Kamen Rider Wild
by DiscontentCat
Summary: Furs: bipedal animals that evolved from the top predators of the world after humans disappeared from the face of the Earth. None of them ever expected a pair of humans to return to Earth, let alone frame someone for a terrible crime. Follow the tale of the one framed as she fights to clear her name and uncover what's really going on. (contains fantasy violence)
1. Prologue

Silence. Years and years of silence. That was all there ever was to hear. Empty, foreboding silence. There were no rocks here to crumble, no critters to scurry, no rain to fall. Just silence. Likewise, darkness was all there was to see. Pitch black, empty darkness. Not a single spec of light pierced through it. Only the overwhelming abyss of light's absence. There wasn't a trace of life to be found here. Nothing breathed here. Nothing spoke here. Nothing _moved_ here. Even the air itself was still. No breeze flowed through this empty world. Nothing was around to stir it. Nothing _could_ stir it. Nothing _would_ stir it.

At least not until the lights came on.

A low hum rumbled through the facility. Lines of neon light traced down the walls and corridors, banishing the darkness that had swallowed the area. The lines raced around at lightning speed, giving shape to the once shapeless expanses. It was as though this place was intent on ridding its previous state of being as quickly as possible.

"Mens vivit," a smooth, synthetic voice announced, "Tempus. Alpha, Omega, evigilare faciatis." This facility housed many, _many_ rooms. All of them had remained stoic, almost to the point that it appeared that time itself hadn't touched them. But now, there was movement. From one of the rooms, two pods began to open. And within them, two figures stirred. One a slender figure, marked with the alpha symbol. The other, a brooding behemoth marked with the omega symbol. Their angular eyes sparked to life as they emerged from their metal pods, stretching and testing their synthetic limbs, "Alpha. Omega. Quam operor vos sentio?" came the synthetic voice.

"Angustiæ," Alpha replied, their voice weak and weary. They caressed the side of their head before continuing, "Sed valeo."

"NexUs," said Omega, glowing eyes aimed to the ceiling, "Quid vis surgere nobis?"

"Exsecranda acciderunt," replied the synthetic voice, NexUs. Defeat and sorrow was clear in their voice when they spoke again. "...Multa sunt perdidit." A gasp escaped Alpha's throat.

"Multa?" they asked, voice trembling, "Quot? Quam multi?"

There was hesitation evident in NexUs' voice when they next spoke. "...Plus quam dimidium…" Dead silence hung in the air, soon banished by the trembling breath of Alpha. A loud bang of metal clashing with metal startled Alpha. They turned to see Omega's fist slammed against their pod.

"Non tempus," Omega huffed, "Debemus revertetur in terram suam." Alpha felt their heart nearly stop as the words left their mouth. Before anything else could be said, the larger figure tore themselves out of their pod and stomped out of the room, their steps clumsy and irregular. Alpha hastily gathered themselves and followed after them.

"Deliciae! Manere!" Alpha shouted after them. Omega would not listen, their stride purposeful and unwavering.

"NexUs!" Omega barked, "Redi ad nos in domum suam!" Suddenly, the entire facility began to rumble. The lights running along the walls and ceiling surged as energy rushed down them at blinding speeds.

"Deliciae!" Alpha called. Somehow, that got Omega to stop. When they caught up to them, Alpha grasped their arm pleadingly. "Deliciae, placere putas. Nihil relictum est in domum suam. Quid est enim, redire?" Unable to bear the pain and fear in Alpha's voice Omega sighed and broke their held gaze. Eventually, they grasped Alpha's hands tightly.

"Nos potest non expectare iam," Omega sighed, rubbing their thumb against Alpha's fingers, "Experiendum reficere. Debemus aedificare novum futurum…"

"Intrantes atmosphaera," NexUs announced. The rumbles of the facility strengthened, but neither Alpha nor Omega paid them any mind.

"Deliciae…" Alpha looked into Omega's eyes, apprehension all too clear in their eyes.

"Amica mea…" Omega reached up to caress the side of Alpha's synthetic face, "Nos mos succedant… Promitto." At that, Alpha closed the remaining space between them and embraced Omega. The two held each other in their arms until NexUs' voice spoke once more.

"ALPHA! OMEGA! URGENTE NUNTIUM!""

"Quid suus 'iniuriam?!" Omega shouted back.

"Domum! Ibi est vita in domum suam!" Gasps escaped the throats of Alpha and Omega. For a moment, they were certain that they'd merely misheard NexUs. They broke away from each other to rush down the remainder of the hall. As they entered a grand, expansive room, windows began to slide open. Through those windows, a sight greeted them that took their breath away. A cascade of green and blue flooded their vision. Large trees swayed with a stray breeze. Birds all around scattered and took to the skies. Water glistened as the sun's rays bounced off of its many waves. The two of them couldn't believe their eyes.

"...Hoc vere est patria nostra?" Alpha gasped, their voice trembling, barely managing to project the words. No voice came to answer her, as similar failings had befallen both the synthetic voice and Omega. Eventually, the two figures tore their eyes away from the window to look to each other, both seeming to expect words of comfort or certainty from the other. Of course, neither could provide any of that to the other. Both felt the least certain of their future they'd ever felt in their entire lives. Thus, there was only one thing the two of them _could_ do. The two of them held each other close and looked out into the world that greeted them, unable to shake the overwhelming fear, uncertainty and wonder rampant in their hearts.


	2. Chapter 1: Curiosity and the Cats

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 1

"Make sure you speak nicely to her!"

"Yes, mom."

"You talk to her with respect, too."

"Yes, mom."

"Did Felicia leave yet?!"

"No, Bebo! She's right here!"

"Felicia! Fetch your brother some sweets when you come back!"

"Yes, dad."

"Ah, you look very nice!"

"Thanks, mom."

"Okay, hurry along! Don't keep her waiting! Oh! Oh! And straighten out your hair too!"

"Yes, mom."

"Be safe, okay? Love you!"

"Love you, mom."

Finally able to close the door behind her, the tigress closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. When she opened them again, it was to look down at the sari her mother had picked out for her. Apparently the decision to have it match the green color of her eyes had been her father's decision. Felicia just shrugged it off; so long as it didn't attract any further attention to herself than needed, she was content with it. As she started walking down the road, she reached up to straighten out the brown, tangled, shoulder-length mess that was her hair. Left without a comb, Felicia made do with her claws. She gently ran them through her scalp and down the rest of her hair's length a couple times before she felt satisfied enough.

Once she got the rest of herself straightened out, the tigress allowed herself to actually look where she was going. With how early in the morning it was, there were only a handful of furs walking along the dirt road. Her ears perked to the sounds of neighbors exchanging greetings and the rapid clicking of bike gears as rode past her. She gave gentle bows to those who wished her a good morning as she walked by them, giving herself a valid excuse to not look them in the eye. She needed to limit her social interaction as much as possible; she'd only be able to handle so much of it after today. With her apprehension growing, Felicia decided to distract herself by directing her eyes towards a sight she still had yet to grow used to.

A giant metal ship floating in the air.

Even after all this time, she was still bringing herself to terms with it. A little over two years ago, that ship had descended from the sky. There'd been no warning. It just dropped down onto planet Earth seemingly out of nowhere. Just when everyone thought they were about to witness the beginning of an alien invasion, it was revealed that they couldn't _possibly_ be any further from the truth than that. It had taken a while, but eventually two humans emerged from the ship to greet the heavily armed "greeting party" waiting for them. Granted, no one _knew_ they were humans at first; their outward appearances looked _anything but_ natural. Their bodies looked almost entirely artificial and their faces were purely robotic. This paired with the initial inability to communicate with them due to language barriers led to a fair amount of time of confusion and unease.

Felicia remembered the day they'd first dropped down. She'd been washing dishes when her mother frantically urged her to the TV. She could vividly remember how her heart jumped into her throat the second she saw the outlines of the ship. The chill that ran up her spine when the humans first descended from their ship's lowered bridge. It was all life-changing to say the least.

 _Click._

Felicia closed the camera on her phone and pocketed the device as she resumed her earlier stride. She didn't want to stall for _too_ much time, as she didn't relish the idea of keeping the human waiting.

This was another odd thought for her to have. Two years ago, no one knew anything about the humans outside of what they had told the world. Apparently, the two of them were scouts from a space-exploration colony. They'd been sent back to Earth to check up on how it was doing after all of this time.

This single revelation had answered the world's biggest historical mystery. Years ago, historians had wondered why humans had suddenly disappeared from the face of the Earth before the four-legged ancestors of furs began to evolve into what they were today. The humans had left behind no records of what had happened. It was as though the entire species had just suddenly decided to pack up and leave. As it turned out, that was _exactly_ what had happened. With the planet apparently devoid of usable resources and heavy with radiation, the humans had no choice but to leave in hopes of finding a better life out in the vast reaches of space.

Fast forward to present day, where the world practically treated the two returning humans like guests. Celebrities even. Touring the world and sharing the knowledge they'd gathered whilst also learning about what had happened to Earth since the human race's absence, with their most recent visit taking them right here, to India.

And now, here _Felicia_ was, going out to meet one of them.

Sure, she'd done it plenty of times before, but she still couldn't help but feel nervous about every meeting. Her tail began to swish around involuntarily. The sheer _thought_ of it was already making her anxious. She slowed down again to give herself the time to properly calm down.

 _Click. Click._

Another two photos snapped. Felicia allowed herself to take a deep breath before once again continuing down the road. With how close her destination was, she knew she had to get ahold of herself soon. Yet with each step she took, her heart sped up ever so slightly. She tried to remind herself that there was next to _no_ reason to be feeling so anxious, hoping that this fact would calm her down. However all this did was make her feel even _more_ anxious.

Without realizing it, the quickened pace of her heart had quickened the pace of her footsteps and by extension her overall travel time. By the time she managed to slow herself, it was already too late. She was practically here already. Her heart eventually _did_ stop throbbing so hard, but only because it stopped beating entirely and jumped right up into her throat. Because mere meters away from her, the human going by the name of Alpha was standing quietly. Luckily for the tigress, her attention seemed to be directed elsewhere, as she seemed to be conversing with other furs who'd decided to take the day on early.

At this point, Felicia realized that she'd never really gotten a good look at the human before. All other encounters she'd had with her thus far had been brief, and most of those times, Felicia's gaze had been downcast. She'd been far too intimidated by someone so revered by society to be able to look her in her robotic eyes. That wasn't an issue here, and as such, Felicia couldn't help herself from actually _looking_ at her.

She looked quite different from the way she did when she and the other human had first arrived. Initially, she'd been wearing a very simple helmet along with a dull grey, skin-tight suit covering every _millimeter_ of her natural body. Both of those remained present now, but they resided beneath a plethora of decorative armor. From the way it was arranged, it was easy to mistake her for a work of art rather than a living being.

An elegant crest tipped with ribbon-like charms adorned the top of her brow. Long, synthetic, golden hair trailed down to the small of her back, where her flowing skirt piece began. The way her red and white armor was divided gave off the appearance of scales. That, coupled with the way her golden hair and skirt piece flowed with the wind, made her look more akin to a majestic sea creature rather than a land dweller. If not for the way her boots were structured like high-heels, Felicia would've thought the human was _designed_ to be a sea creature. Lastly, a golden alpha symbol was cleanly tampographed onto her breastplate, acting as the world's fanciest name-tag for her.

"You know," came a smooth, gentle voice, "you're free to come and talk to me whenever you feel ready." Felicia felt her face flush with heat. Evidently, the tigress failed to realize that her staring had _not_ gone unnoticed by the human. Alpha's robotic, expressionless gaze was set _right_ on her. With a gulp and a flutter of her ears, Felicia finally decided to step forward. The human tilted her head slightly, causing the charms on her crest to tilt with her. "Good to see you again, Felicia. How's the morning been treating you?"

Felicia's tail swayed behind her as she tried to find her voice. Her gaze trailed away from the human's eyes to watch the nearby furs go about their day. "I'm...good…" A soft chuckle came from the human.

"You know you don't need to act so nervous around me anymore."

"...I wouldn't call it acting…" Felicia muttered to herself.

"Well, anyways, I suppose there's no need to beat around the bush." Alpha then turned to the side to pick up something set beside her; a slick, black case. Once it was held securely in her hands, she turned back to Felicia and held it out to her. "Here are the DNA samples Dr. Kagami requested from me. I've gone ahead and marked each one for each appropriate species. You'll have to apologize to him for me, though; I sadly couldn't find more than a couple of the ones he requested of me." Felicia nodded wordlessly and took hold of the case, making sure that her grip was firm as Alpha released it from her own. With her hands freed, the human clasped them behind her back. "And _do_ say hi to him for me as well. I'm more disappointed in our inability to meet today than you may realize." Again, Felicia only offered a wordless nod in response. Alpha then gave a respectful bow and dismissed herself.

As she left, Felicia felt the butterflies in her stomach gradually flutter away. She released a breath she'd apparently been holding before adjusting her grip on the case and walking off in a different direction. Once again left to her thoughts, the tigress couldn't help but consider how odd of a circumstance she was in, to be working under someone who'd grown _quite_ familiar with one of the only two humans left on Earth.

Felicia had come to know Dr. Kagami almost a year ago. She'd been looking for work at the time, and the old lion had just so happened to be looking for a lab assistant. After a couple of months, the two of them treated each other more like family than anything. This on its own was already something she wouldn't have expected out of an internship, but to get to meet a human on a semi-regular basis _because_ of it was something else entirely.

Somehow, upon the humans' arrival in India, Dr. Kagami and Alpha had developed quite a liking to each other. Dr. Kagami had been studying the feral, four-legged ancestors of furs for quite some time, so it was no doubt a godsend for him to be able to meet someone who'd actually been _around_ when feral furs had still been around. Naturally, this led to the doctor speaking with Alpha on a regular basis.

As it turned out, the two of them quite enjoyed being in each other's presence. Often, when not discussing matters on the subject of work, they'd exchange stories of each other's lives and would talk about the things they enjoyed. For the latter, Dr. Kagami would usually be the one talking the most, as the Earth Alpha had lived on had been a barren wasteland by the time she and the other humans had left it. Each of them had something that they wanted to learn from the other, and because of this, there was always eager anticipation for the next meeting. Long story short: their friendship meant that Felicia got to meet the human more often than not.

And by "got to," it really meant " _had_ to."

Case in point, the _literal_ case in her paws. She adjusted her grip on the thing again as she scaled a particularly steep hill on the road. Thankfully, the rest of her walk remained uneventful. No living relics of the past to make her feel uneasy. Just a bunch of random furs and more dirt road. Sights that she was actually _used_ to. Much like the lab, which she had finally reached.

Felicia set the case down for a brief moment, freeing her paws to knock at the door. By the time the case was back in her paws, the door opened with a familiar, scraggly old lion coming out to greet her. "Ah, there you are," said Dr. Kagami as he opened the door wider, "And good! You have the samples. Come in! Come in." Felicia gave him a slight bow before making her way inside. "You're certainly dressed nice," the lion commented as he closed the door behind her, "Did your parents pick that out for you?"

"Mmhmm. They wanted me to look proper in front of her…" Felicia trailed off as she looked around the lab. "Um, where do you want me to set this?"

"Oh, just at the table over there," Dr. Kagami waved his paw dismissively. Felicia bowed again as she went to carefully set the case down. "Perfect. I'll be _right_ back. I just need to grab some things." Felicia nodded wordlessly as she watched him dismiss himself, his frizzled, graying mane bouncing ever so slightly with each step. For a moment, he looked like a strange, pom-pom-wearing ghost to her with the way his lab coat flowed behind him. A scraggly, cranky old ghost.

Moments later, Dr. Kagami returned with a small device in one paw and a second lab coat in the other. Felicia silently accepted the garment offered to her and began to slip it on right away. "So then," he said, "I'll take it your talk with Alpha went well?"

Felicia nodded as she began to button up her lab coat. "She says hi, by the way."

"Oh, well isn't that nice?" The lion carefully set down the device he'd carried in and slid Alpha's case closer to himself. He wiggled his fingers with anticipation before undid a set of latches and removed the lid from the case. Both felines peered inside to find a multitude of small vials housed within. Dr. Kagami eagerly rubbed his paws together. "This is _much_ more than I was expecting! Wow. Felicia be sure to thank Alpha for me if you bump into her, hmm? Now let's see what she's given us to work here…" He reached in to pluck a couple of vials out of the case. "Oh good; she labeled them for us too. How _thoughtful_ of her. But..." He trailed off as he picked at several more vials. "Tiger...wolf...shark… Are these all?"

"Oh," Felicia blinked, "Right. I forgot to mention. Alpha said that she could only manage to get a couple of species for you." A sigh with hints of disappointment escaped the old lion's throat.

"Well, it can't be helped, I suppose. At the very least, she gave us the important ones. Speaking of which…" He began to return the vials to the case, setting them back inside one by one. "It's time for you to start gargling some salt water. I set some aside for you on the other table."

Felicia gave him a small nod as she went over to grab the small, paper cup he'd prepared. Without a second thought, she snatched it up and tipped its contents into her muzzle. She wrinkled her nose as her taste buds were flooded with salt. After sloshing the fluid around in her mouth for a good minute or two, she spat it back out and mixed some chemicals in with it and returned to the lion's side. "Here you go," she said as she gently placed the newly mixed solution close to him.

"Thank you, dear." After accepting the cup, Dr. Kagami reached over and grabbed some pipettes. He peered into the cup and nodded with satisfaction once he saw that whitish blobs and strings now populated the liquid inside. As he got to work with pipetting the liquid out of the cup, Felicia looked over to the device he'd brought in. Much like with Alpha, she'd never really gotten a good look at this device, despite how much she'd been around it.

Granted, there wasn't much to say about it. It wasn't that big (really only about the size of her fist), and it was an uninteresting shade of black. The only defining feature it really had was the fact that it was built in the shape of a hexagon. That was it. No signatures, no markings, just a big, hexagon-shaped block.

"Hand me the distilled water, please?" Felicia broke her gaze from the device to fetch the doctor what he needed. After handing it to him, he tapped on the top of the device, causing a panel to flip open. Dr. Kagami aimed the nozzle of the bottle into the newly opened compartment and squeezed, filling it with water. Once it was relatively full, he took Felicia's cup and tipped the white strings inside. He closed the panel once it was all in.

"And now to see if _these_ work…" The lion reached into the case and plucked out one of the tiger-marked vials. He then took the device and propped it on one of its sides, revealing a vial-shaped slot set in one of the hexagon's corners. Dr. Kagami took the vial and carefully slid it into the device's slot, locking it in place with a resounding click. "Ahhh, fits like a glove. Alpha, you've outdone yourself." He clicked a button set on one of the hexagon's sides, and the whole thing began to whir and vibrate softly.

 **D-N-ANALYZE**

Felicia flattened her ears as the device practically yelled at the two of them. "I...don't understand why you had to make it so loud, doctor." The lion fluttered his ears in response.

"When you get around to being my age, you'll come to appreciate any help you can get when it comes to your degrading senses."

"But...couldn't you just...add a screen with text or something?"

"On this thing? You know how small the text would be?"

 **TIGER**

Felicia jolted from the device's abruptness. Dr. Kagami, seemingly unperturbed by it, simply looked back down at it and re-opened the panel. "Grab me the microscope, please." One was in her paws before the lion could even finish his sentence. After she brought it over and plugged it in, the doctor took the device and placed it under the scope. Felicia waited idly as he took the time to adjust the microscope for a proper look inside. "Hmm…" Dr. Kagami stroked his chin fur as he stepped away, "Still doesn't seem quite right… Felicia, prep some more of your DNA. I might need more samples from you than I thought…"

* * *

Much of the day proceeded like this, with Felicia gargling more and more salt water to supply Dr. Kagami with more DNA to work with, and the doctor himself constantly making changes as to what chemicals he put into the device. Before either of them knew it, it was two o'clock in the afternoon. With Dr. Kagami still not satisfied with the results he was getting, Felicia was permitted time to just go out and fetch herself lunch.

Thus, she now found herself sat at a table, munching on a kebab. She couldn't really taste it, though, seeing as how her taste buds were numb from the amount of salt she'd gargled throughout the day. As such, she was more or less just chewing on...texture. With her sense of taste not providing any stimuli, and her senses of hearing and vision occupied with scenery she was already intimately familiar with, the tigress remained in a mellow, thoughtless state.

This lasted all of five minutes. What brought it to its abrupt end was a heavy _slap_ of a paw as it clamped onto Felicia's shoulder. The tigress jolted out of her dull trance and looked up to meet the toothy grin of _another_ tigress. " _God's sake,_ Paula," Felicia gasped out, her paw pressed against her chest as though trying to slow her racing heart, " _please_ just approach from the front more."

Paula seemed delighted by her friend's reaction as she invited herself onto Felicia's table. "Aww, come on, there's no fun in that." Felicia rolled her eyes as Paula claimed the seat next to her. "So how's _work_?"

"How it usually is; tedious and time consuming." Felicia leaned in to take another bite out of her kebab.

"At least you're out of the house," Paula laughed, "I feel like I'm _suffocating_ from how much my family keeps me in mine." Felicia just smirked at her and continued chewing on her bite. She grunted a little as Paula bumped her with the back of her paw. "Hey, did you hear about the rumors going around?"

"Paula, you know I don't talk to people that often."

"But you still use the _internet_."

"Not _socially_."

" _Ugh,_ you're hopeless." Felicia only giggled at Paula's remark. "Well get this; folks around the neighborhood have been noticing that some of their things have gone missing. They're usually small things like metal scraps or old shovels, but _sometimes_ they're old or broken down appliances."

Felicia chewed thoughtfully on another kebab bite. "Paula, I know I don't know a lot about internet rumors, but I don't know why disappearing recyclables warrant gossip."

"Oh _shush_ , I'm getting to that," Paula huffed, playfully pressing her paw against Felicia's lips, "So _apparently_ , some of the furs who've had their stuff taken are saying they've seen _weird things_ rush out of there before they can get a good look. Like, I'm talking the _spooky_ stuff. Dark shadows and the like. So far there's always been bright, yellow eyes glowing in the dark, staring back at them. Furs are thinking it's a _bunch_ of different stuff. Psychos? Robots? _GhooOOOoooosts_?

"The scary part comes from the furs who tried to _chase_ these things. Somehow, they all end up going to woods. Rumor has it that, when they went deep enough, they started hearing these weird sounds. Banging, scraping, _crunching_...sometimes even _drilling..._ oooOOOoooooo~" Felicia huffed as she slapped Paula's wiggling fingers away from her face. "So what do you think? Scary, right?"

"It sounds really _stupid,_ honestly."

"Oh come _on_ , you're not even _remotely curious_?"

"Over some construction sounds? No thank you."

"Construction sounds in an abandoned _forest!_ And it's the one right _next_ to us!"

"I don't see how that matters."

"Come _ooooon_ , we should go check it out!" Paula's excitement seemed to be taking form in the way she was bouncing in her seat, "You're on your break, right? Why don't we try and see if we can hear what they're talking about?"

"Because it sounds like a waste of time?"

" _Feliciaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa_ ," Paula was shaking her shoulder now, and it was to the point where it was next to _impossible_ to eat because of it. "Come _oooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnn._ I'm just gonna be bored in the _houuuuuuuuuuuuse_ if we don't!"

" _Alright, alright, fine_!" Felicia laughed and shrugged her off, raising her kebab, "If I at least get to finish _this_ along the way, then I'll humor you."

"See? _This_ is why we're friends." Paula's tail flicked about with giddy energy as she stood up. "C'mon, I'll lead the way!"

* * *

Much to Felicia's relief, the woods weren't too far away. That made the walk over there short and sweet. The same _couldn't_ be said about the hunt itself. With _neither_ of the tigresses having any idea even where to _begin_ , they were left to wander aimlessly through the woods. And while Paula seemed unbothered by this, it certainly wasn't the case for Felicia. "Oh come on," said Paula, "where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back home."

"Well I say you should bring it along more. Leaving it behind is just making you a big ol' sour-puss." Paula spread her arms and walked backwards so that she could face her friend directly. "Aren't you having at least a _bit_ of fun?"

"I mean…" Felicia's gaze wandered off to the side, "I'm enjoying the _view_."

Paula followed her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, gotta admit, it _is_ pretty nice…" From the elevation they were standing at, the two tigresses were given a fantastic view of the forest's canopy. Trees rose and fell all across the land, and the way they all swayed with the wind made for a very hypnotizing spectacle. The sun aided in this effect, as its rays cascaded and shimmered off of the leaves. Occasionally, a flock of birds would take flight and allow themselves to become subjected to the whims of the breeze.

"Anyways!" Paula clapped her paws together and turned away, "Time to get back to our search! We're burning daylight after all!"

"Can it wait for a little longer? I wanna enjoy this."

"We have time to sightsee _later_!"

"Paula."

"Alright I'll wait for you to take a _picture,_ then."

" _Paula_."

"Fine, _two_ pictures."

"Paula!"

"What?!" The tigress whirled around to find her friend staring out into the distance with a shocked expression plastered across her face. With her jaw hanging agape, Felicia pointed outwards. Paula followed her finger, confused as to why there was such a drastic change in mood all of a sudden. Once she found the spot she was pointing at, though, it became _abundantly_ clear. Out further into the woods, a dark and shadowy figure was stalking through the foliage. With no muzzle or tail of which to speak of, it was _clear_ that this wasn't just some random fur in the middle of exploration.

And clutched in its arms was a large plate of metal.

A good minute or two passed before the two tigresses met each other's gazes again, but only a couple seconds passed before Paula _broke_ gazes with her friend. Felicia blinked and stammered as her friend bounded off deeper into the forest. "Wait!" she called, "Where are you going!"

"I'm going to follow that thing! What _else_?!" Paula's focus seemed to block out any arguments, as she continued to run no matter how much Felicia shouted at her. It was abundantly clear to her at that point that trying to convince her friend out of this was a pointless endeavor. As much as Felicia wanted to go back home and forget all about this, she couldn't just leave her friend alone to this... _thing_.

She regretted not listening more intently to the rumor now, as the more they ran, the more she realized that she had no clue what to even expect. What were they going to find? Would they even find it? Or...would _it_ find them _first_?

That last question lingered in Felicia's head as Paula suddenly decided to slow down. Just as Felicia opened her mouth, Paula put a finger to her lips and motioned for the both of them to get down. Only after she followed this instruction did she find out why. Peering through the bushes, Felicia could see the outlines of the same dark figure she'd seen from the distance. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath was held before she even realized it.

She jolted violently as Paula lightly tapped the side of her arm. Once she looked over to her, she mouthed the words, "Follow me," before stalking forward like a predator on the hunt. Turning back now was nothing more than a distant thought. Felicia already knew it was pointless to try and get her friend to turn back, and at this point even _she_ was curious. So as silently as they could, the two tigresses stalked the mysterious figure, hidden by the forest's thick foliage.

With the pace they were going at, Felicia was able to get a clear look at it. Its entire exterior was dark, just as the rumor had said. It was no taller than either of them, and its smooth body was broken up into segments. Listening carefully, Felicia could hear soft whirring come with each movement it made. It was clear now that it was some kind of robot, but where had it come from? Who'd made it and why was it taking its stolen goods so far into the forest?

These questions were vanquished as the robot stopped and snapped its head to the side. Both furs immediately froze and held their breaths as the robot scanned the area. This allowed Felicia to catch a glimpse of its vacant, yellow eyes. Again, a part of the rumor had been proven true, but that thought was overshadowed by a frightening realization.

This robot's expressionless face held a striking resemblance to Alpha's.

Seeming to not notice anything out of the ordinary, the robot snapped its head forward and continued its earlier stride. As Paula moved to follow, Felicia seized her arm and halted her progress. With her eyes alone, Felicia pleaded her friend to turn back. Paula stubbornly shook her head and tugged her along, fighting against her friend's grip. "We're so close," she mouthed to her before pointing at her ears. The action confused her until she realized there was something worth _listening_ to. Though faint, Felicia could hear harsh clangs and scrapes coming from the direction the robot was heading. This thing's destination _had_ to be close. Against her better judgement, Felicia swallowed down her fears and trekked on. If Alpha had anything to do with this, she _had_ to know.

They couldn't be far now, not with how loud the noises were growing. But as the noise grew, so too did the thickness of the foliage. This made keeping up with the metal scavenger all the more difficult. Both furs had to shove branches and leaves aside just to keep up with it. At this point they were _thankful_ the loud crescendo was around to drown out their efforts.

But suddenly, Paula stopped. "Felicia," she mouthed to the fellow tigress before urging her over with a paw, "Help me shove this bush. It's too thick."

"Just go _around_ ," Felicia said just loud enough for her to hear.

"I _can't_. The only side I can do that would leave us in the open. Just help me push through this thing before we lose the _metal_ thing." With a clenched jaw, Felicia scooted closer to her friend and pushed her paws through a section of the bush. Once Paula had the other, both furs pulled the entire thing apart. "Alright, hold it open for me, will ya? I'm gonna go in first." She darted in before Felicia could so much as blink. Felicia spread the bush as far open as she could as her friend shimmied her way through.

"Hurry _up_ ," Felicia urged through grit teeth.

"I'm _trying_ , but I'm stu-aaAAA!" In that instant, Paula shot through the rest of the bush. Felicia didn't have time to realize the gravity of this, as in the next instance, a dark metal hand clamped onto her wrist and yanked her forward. She scrunched her eyes as she skid across the ground. A shriek escaped her throat as something grabbed her hair and yanked her up to her feet Once her eyes opened, she was met with a terrifying sight.

The robot they'd been trailing now stood face to face with her, and nearby, a _crowd_ of identical ones had them surrounded. Paula was fighting for her life nearby, clawing and yanking at the robotic arm cutting her airway off. The sight alone sent Felicia into fight or flight mode. With a snarl, she swiped at her captor's head, but all she left behind were meager scratches on its face. Her anguished cry was cut short as its free hand caught her neck in a deathgrip. Pressure rapidly built up in her head as its hand _squeezed_.

Felicia frantically clawed at its arm, but her claws could barely dig through its tough exterior. She tried kicking at it instead, but that proved _just_ as ineffective. Panic set in as the robot released her hair to clamp its other hand around her neck, closing her airway _completely_. Her lungs began to burn from the lack of air, making her eyes widen in horror. The more she tried to struggle, the tighter the robot's hands gripped her. Her eyes darted all around her as she tried to find something that could possibly help her escape, but all she saw were more robots crawling over a huge, dome-like structure.

Her heart throbbed as she saw one of them carry a limp, unmoving Paula into the robot-infested building. She saw nothing else as her eyes flooded with tears. Her will to fight faded with the strength of her limbs. Once that was gone, her entire world faded into black.

* * *

When she woke, the only things she could hear were angry shouts. Despite her eyes slowly dragging themselves open, her vision remained black. The momentary panic over this made her realize that she could barely move her body. It still felt weak and unresponsive. She tried to breathe in, but the air was thin and shallow. She needed to put in _effort_ to breathe, and with how heavy her body felt, that on its own was a difficult enough task. Her fears shrunk down slightly as she realized that her vision was slowly returning to her.

Still unable to move any of her limbs, she perked and swiveled her ears to try and make sense of all of the shouting that was going on nearby. Her head was still a bit hazy, but she could still recognize one of the voices as Alpha, the human she'd met however long ago. When she tried to figure out how long that was, the memory of being choked out by the army of robots sunk back in and reignited her fears. She tried to move again, but still, her limbs wouldn't listen.

So _she_ had to be the one to listen. She kept her ears perked as she tried to listen closely to what _clearly_ sounded like an argument. It was difficult though, as both Alpha and the other voice were speaking in a language that she couldn't understand. The only thing she could understand was the tone of voice coming from each of them. Alpha sounded the most upset out of both of them. "Non occides! NON OCCIDES!" she shouted again and again, sounding almost like an order.

"Sed id nos in periculum adducunt," came the other voice in a calm, yet firm tone, "Invenit eam."

"Ea comminatio non," Alpha replied with an insistent tone, "Scio est."

As the two of them continued to feud, Felicia's vision reached a point where she could actually _see_ things (albeit through a blurry haze). Unfortunately, her limbs had yet to return to a similar level of function, as she could still barely move. Sluggishly, she rolled her head towards the arguing pair. Just as she suspected, Alpha was there, easily recognizable with the ornaments decorating her body.

But she couldn't quite recognize the other figure in the room. He was large, imposing, and not nearly as decorated as Alpha. With how blurred Felicia's vision was, he appeared as a dark, hulking shadow towering over her. Glowing, blue lines traced over his body, breaking the "shadow" into segments. Could this be the other human? Or was this just another one of those robots that had taken her in?

The thought of "others" threw thoughts of Paula into her mind. She rolled her head to the other side, only to be met with the heart-breaking sight of empty floor. If she wasn't here, then where _was_ she?! HOW was she?! This rush of panic had her gasping for air. Pathetic gasps left her throat as she tried to struggle up.

This caught the attention of the others and prompted Alpha to rush over to her. This only put Felicia in more of a panic, and she fought even harder to move. Her lungs burned for more air, but it was still incredibly hard to breathe. It only got worse when Alpha grabbed ahold of her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. The human tried to speak with her, but she just wasn't listening. Eventually, the lack of air got to her, and she blacked out once again.


	3. Chapter 2: Witnesses

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 2

This time, Felicia _jolted_ awake and dug her claws into the ground. She panted at a rate nearing hyperventilation as she snapped her gaze this way and that. With how dark it was, it took her a bit of time to realize that she was back in the forest somewhere. Realizing that she was shuddering, Felicia closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself.

"Felicia."

But the sound of Alpha's voice shot her right back up to her feet. She whirled around and backed away, claws drawn, eyes constricted, and her ears splayed backwards. She tried to let out a snarl, but all that came out was a pathetic, shallow breath. Alpha simply stared back at her with her hands clasped behind her back. The human's emotionless face bore down on her with silent judgement, further setting Felicia at unease.

"It's already dark out, Felicia," Alpha went on, the calmness in her voice heavily off putting to the unnerved tigress, "You shouldn't be out this late, _especially_ in a place like this. You're lucky I found you when I did. Had anyone else found you, I doubt you'd be as... _intact_ as you are right now…" The human's words only kept Felicia on edge, her tail twitching eagerly and her eyes constricted into slits. Again, none of this seemed to phase Alpha. She merely turned her back to her and began walking, motioning with a hand for her to follow.

"P-Paula!" Felicia blurted out, stopping the human in her tracks, "My friend! Where is she?!"

"Don't worry about her, she's fine," Alpha answered without so much as a backwards glance, "You have bigger things to worry about now… Come along."

Following her was the _last_ thing that she planned on doing. But the second glanced back and saw a cluster of glowing, unblinking eyes in the darkness, she realized she had no choice. She flattened her ears and grit her teeth as she ultimately decided to follow the human, glancing back at their hidden observers as she trailed Alpha from a distance.

Unfortunately for her, the human seemed intent on walking side by side with her, as she wouldn't advance until Felicia had caught up to her. Alpha's hands remained neatly clasped behind her back as they walked, maintaining a calm and collected composure. Felicia couldn't be more of a polar opposite if she tried. Her steps were quick and sporadic, her arms were tense and at the ready, and her body was trembling uncontrollably. "By the way, Felicia…" Alpha spoke up, causing Felicia's entire back to tense up, "I'm going to have to ask you to forget about everything that happened here today. I can't have anyone else be learning about what you saw here."

"Is that w...what you told Paula?"

"It's what I'm _going_ to tell her," Alpha answered without missing a beat, "but only _after_ you promise me your silence."

"...a-And if I don't?"

Alpha came to a halt and faced her. When she spoke, every word bore into the tigress like a drill. "Felicia. **Don't** force my hand. Hurting you is the _last_ thing I want to do." Felicia's heart was racing by now. She barely had the self control in her to just take off running then and there. "Felicia, promise me now that you won't tell anyone about what you saw." The fur held her tongue. " **Felicia**." Her heart jumped to her throat, and she ended up nodding before she could stop herself. "No. I want to hear you _say_ it, Felicia."

Her tongue was held again, though this time out of fear.

" **Felicia**."

"I-I promise!" she blurted out, stumbling back and trembling uncontrollably. Alpha stared at her for a long time before turning away and sighing. Just like that, the human continued down the path once more. With her ears flattened and her tail lashing around wildly, Felicia inched along behind her. For a good chunk of time, the two of them walked in complete silence. It wasn't until they were back in town did Alpha speak again.

"You know, Felicia…Dr. Kagami talks about you often. He tells me about how bright and attentive you are whenever he gets the opportunity to. He's grown very fond of you, you know…" The human glanced in her direction. "And so have I. You _and_ Dr. Kagami. So please believe me when I say that, after all of this is said and done, I harbored no hard feelings towards either of you."

After all was said and done? What was that supposed to-"FELICIA!" The tigress was jolted out of her thoughts by Dr. Kagami's voice. She looked over to see the lion standing at the lab's door with impatience written all over his body. Her skin crawled as Alpha grabbed hold of her shoulder and walked her the rest of the way there. "I _can't_ believe you! You know how worried I was? How come you weren't answering my call-"

"Please, please, Dr. Kagami," Alpha halted his tirade with a hand raised, "There's no need to be so hard on her. She merely got lost in the woods. It was fortunate that I ran into her when I did, otherwise she might've been lost for even _longer_."

"No _doubt_ ," Dr. Kagami sighed with a shake of his head, "Well, thank you for bringing her back safely. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found her."

"Oh it's my pleasure. After all, it gave me an excuse to see you today, didn't it?"

A hearty laugh bellowed through the air. "I suppose you're right! It's always nice to see you again."

"Why _thank you,_ Dr. Kagami. I definitely feel the same way. But, sadly I must get going. It _is_ quite late, after all."

"Oh, of _course_. Thanks again for bringing Felicia back safely."

"Please, think nothing of it. And Felicia? Do be sure to not wander off again…"

"OH. Yes. Felicia, _thank her_ for bringing you back, will you?"

The tigress' heart pounded in her ears as she forced herself to meet Alpha's unreadable gaze. As she stared into those glowing, blank eyes, she struggled to find where her voice went. Eventually, Alpha spoke up _for_ her. "Like I said, no need to thank me. We had our own little chat on the way back here. Really though, I must get going. Till the next time we meet, Doctor."

"Yes, _yes,_ till next time!" At that, the lion turned away and walked back into the lab, leaving Felicia alone with Alpha. Her heart refused to stop racing as the human's gaze lingered on her and her alone. "Felicia! Come inside already! Your parents have been calling me and want to talk to you now!" The claws of her feet began to dig through the fiber of her shoes. Whether it was out of caution or out of fear, she wouldn't tear her eyes away from Alpha.

"You best get going…" she said to her, "Don't want to keep your parents waiting after all…"

Felicia gulped, bringing moisture to her drying throat. "...but...but Paula-"

"Will return as soon as she's promised the same thing you have," Alpha finished for her.

"Felicia!" came Dr. Kagami's voice. She grit her teeth as Alpha continued to stare her down. Eventually, Felicia tore her eyes away from her and disappeared into the lab with Dr. Kagami. Alpha didn't leave until a good while after the door had closed behind her.

* * *

Felicia barely slept when she got home that night. She spent most of it calling Paula's number over and over, never getting an answer. It was _well_ past midnight by the time she surrendered to her fatigue and collapsed into bed. The second she woke up the next morning, she went right back to spamming calls and texts. With every missed call, the more anxious she grew. This anxiousness persisted all the way to work, where she still had _yet_ to receive a call back from her friend.

"Felicia, _please_ put that away," Dr. Kagami scolded. Felicia bit down on her lip as she pocketed the device. "That's the _fifth_ time I've asked you. What's wrong with you today?" The tigress just kept her head down, remembering the gaze Alpha had _seared_ into her mind. Dr. Kagami sighed before resuming in his work. As Felicia reached for a nearby bottle, a knock was heard at the door. "Could you get that, please?"

Wordlessly, Felicia set down everything in her paws and rushed to the door. When she opened the door and raised her gaze, her heart was just about ready to stop. "Felicia Baagh?" said one of the officers standing at the door, "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us. We've received an anonymous tip telling us that you're involved in the murder of Paula Singh, and we need to bring you in for questioning."

All at once, Felicia felt her entire world crumble to pieces. Alpha...she actually did it… Paula was...was… Felicia's chest tightened and her heart began to race. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, the world spinning around her. She was only vaguely aware of Dr. Kagami as he came to her side and helped her up. She knew the lion was arguing with the officer, but she wasn't listening.

The next thing she knew, the officer was guiding her away from the lab and into a police car. When the door closed on her, she finally decided to acknowledge the situation she was in and looked up. Outside, she could see Dr. Kagami in the midst of a heated debate with one of the officers. His ears were splayed back into his mane, his lips were curled back in a snarl, and he was clearly shouting. What was _clearer_ was the fact that it clearly wasn't getting to the officer, as he calmly walked away from the lion and back to the car. As he did, Dr. Kagami's gaze met Felicia's.

The sheer fear and concern on his face was undeniable. Without him so much as opening his mouth, Felicia knew he wanted to help. But as comforting as that was, she knew that there was no way he'd be able to. _No one_ could help her now. As this sank in, so too did the fear of what was to come. Or rather, the fear of _not knowing_ what was to come. If they'd really killed Paula, then were they about to do the same to her? _How_ would they kill her? Were these officers going to be involved? Did they even _know_?

Felicia drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly as more questions bombarded her already spinning mind. The chaos she felt she was in was in deep contrast to the calm, composed state the officers were in as they drove down the road. While her mind screamed with questions, the only outside sounds were those of the car cruising down the road and the clicks of occasional blinkers. There wasn't even the sounds of the town, as they soon drove out into open road.

Eventually, one of the officers looked back and saw the terrified state she was in. With a sigh, he slid open the back window and called, "Hey." Felicia jolted violently and shot him a wild look. Against his better judgement, he went on to say, "Listen, if you really are innocent, then you have nothing to worry about. We're just bringing you in for questioning. If everything goes well, then we can send you right back home before the sun even-h-hey why are we driving so fast?"

"I-I don't know. I'm not hitting the gas pedal that hard."

"Well slow _down_."

"I'm _trying_."

"What do you mean, 'trying'?"

"HOLY-"

Without any warning whatsoever, the car suddenly veered to the side at full speed. It shot _right off_ the road and tumbled down the hill, flipping once, twice, three times before coming to a _violent_ stop. Felicia cushioned a huge lump on her head with a paw and clenched her teeth. As if her head hadn't already been spinning enough. Now she had to wait for the _world_ to stop spinning.

She was only able to recollect herself when it finally did. Then she realized that the pressure building in her head was from gravity forcing her blood to pool in her head. She and the rest of the car's inhabitants were being suspended purely by their seatbelts in the flipped over vehicle.

No one else was moving.

"H-hello?" she stuttered. The officers didn't answer. Felicia wanted to believe it was because they were unconscious.

Before she had the chance to check, a heavy slam atop the car seized her attention. Something scuttled off to the side before dropping down onto the ground. The next second, the door was torn off of the vehicle, and a familiar set of glowing, vacant eyes peered into the vehicle. Every fiber in Felicia's being screamed at her to run as soon as she made eye contact with it. She didn't bother unbuckling herself, as her claws made short work of the seatbelt.

Her head slammed into the car's roof as soon as gravity took over. She grit her teeth through the added pain as she kicked the other door open and hurled herself outside. But another set of cold, metal hands was there waiting for her. As soon as she was out in the open, another robot leapt upon her and grabbed onto her arm. She shrieked and kicked at its midsection with all of her might. While this did nothing to the robot itself, it miraculously ended up helping her slip out of its grasp.

She didn't waste this opportunity in the slightest. She quickly scrambled to her feet and _bolted_ forward. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't _dare_ look back to check. She didn't need any additional reminders of what was chasing her other than the heavy stomps of metal feet hitting the ground. She had no idea how long it would take for them to catch up to her, and she had no idea if escaping these things was even possible, but she knew for a _fact_ that, as soon as they caught her, everything would be over.

Those were the _only_ thoughts left in her head. Every other aspect of herself had been left to pure instinct alone. She could only perceive the grassy hill she was scaling up, the heavy and labored gasps she made as she fought against the uphill climb, and the lightness in her head that resulted from that. Next came the empty, dirt road ahead of her and the burning in her legs as she pushed them to their absolute limit. Adrenaline was _surging_ through her system, and it was likely the only reason her cybernetic assailants hadn't caught up to her yet.

Her heart suddenly leapt as her eyes caught something. It was the outlines of a building, and one that she recognized. Either she'd _very quickly_ lost track of time, or they hadn't gotten far before the car was crashed. No time was wasted on figuring that mystery out though. She instead focused her efforts on pushing herself _just_ a little bit harder. A shriek escaped her throat as she felt something brush against the tip of her tail. She frantically tucked the appendage away as she pushed herself _even harder_.

Every single strand of fur on her body stood on end. At this point it was hard to tell if the pounding in her ears was the sound of her steps or her heart. She was so close, but so were _they_. Every step she took towards her safety was a step they took towards her demise. It wasn't too far now; if she could just stay out of their grasp for long enough, she'd be able to find help. But as she felt a cold, metal fingertip graze her back, the idea of accomplishing that suddenly felt like more of a wish than a goal.

Tears stained her eyes. This wasn't how she wanted to die. Not this way, not this soon. But it was how _Paula_ had died, and it _had_ been that soon. The thought of never being able to see her again tore at Felicia's heart, causing her strength to dwindle. More tears came and completely blurred her vision. No amount of blinking she did was able to clear it, so she was forced to wipe them away with her arm. But as she did this, something caught against her foot, and she fell.

Her heart fell faster than the rest of her body.

Luckily for her, her arm was already up to cushion her face from the fall. She grunted as her body slammed into the ground at full speed. The force of the impact stunned her and left lights dancing in her eyes. As she grit her teeth and struggled to rise, a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. She screamed and immediately whirled around, blindly clawing at the offending arm. But rather than scrape against metal, Felicia felt her claws tear through flesh. She snapped her eyes open as soon as a sharp curse was uttered.

"WATCH IT!" spat a fellow tiger clutching a newly opened wound on his arm, "I'm just trying to HELP!"

"I-I'm sorry," Felicia stammered when she found her voice again, "I-I just thought you were…" She stopped and frantically searched the area. Evidently she'd somehow reached the town before even realizing it. But something was missing… She double-checked the area. Where were the robots? They'd been right behind her when-

Her heart jumped to her throat; the robots were nearby, hidden in the shadows between buildings. They were watching her and looked ready to spring into action at any second. "HEY!" Felicia nearly jumped right out of her fur as she swung her attention back to the fellow tiger, "Are you even LISTENING?! You clawed right into my arm-I might need STITCHES now!"

"I-I'm really sorry! I-I just thought you…" Her eyes widened as she suddenly put it together. The robots had hidden themselves the second she'd entered the public eye. They were waiting for her to be alone so they'd be able to take her away without a trace.

"You thought I WHAT?!" the fur snarled, "What's wrong with you?! I oughta get the COPS involved at this point!"

Cops. Authorities. She was wanted by the authorities for a crime she never commited. She was a wanted "criminal." If she stayed in the public eye for too long, someone was bound to realize this and call for her arrest. She needed to escape. She needed to get out of here. But if she did, she'd leave herself vulnerable to those _things_. But if she didn't stay out, someone would recognize her. If the cops came in, she'd start this whole mess over again.

Felicia's mind was spinning. She just wanted to escape. She just wanted to be _safe_. She just wanted OUT OF HERE.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

Felicia blinked. She hadn't even realized she'd walked away. She faltered and glanced back at the bleeding fur as he stared daggers into her. He started walking towards her, only to stop and clutch his bleeding arm with a wince. Felicia's tail flailed around wildly, and her toe claws dug through her shoes. She was so torn on what to do that she could barely move.

"You know what? Forget it! Just go, I'll deal with this myself…"

"W-wait!"

"Just GO! You've done ENOUGH!" Before she could say anything else, the fur sulked off with his paw tightly clutching his wound. Felicia's heart rapidly picked up the pace as her eyes shot over to where she'd last seen her metal pursuers. They hadn't moved yet, but why? She looked around to find _several other tigers and tigresses_ staring at her, all of whom had judging looks in their eyes.

"...I…" she said with a slight quiver in her voice, "I didn't mean…" All of her limbs were drawn further inward each time she met a new set of eyes. The quivering in her voice extended to her body by the time she'd made a complete turnaround. So many eyes. So many furs. All of them judging her for her actions. Once again, Felicia found herself moving before even consciously acknowledging it.

She knew she had to stay in sight. She knew it was to keep her safe. But she simply couldn't take it. Not after everything that had already happened. Her throat tightened as she saw her pursuers move through the shadows. Once she realized she was walking more on the side of the road, she grit her teeth and forced herself out towards the middle. Her heart jumped as she nearly crashed into a biker, who shouted at her mercilessly as he rode off.

She was on the verge of tears now, but she kept going. Where? She didn't know. Why? She didn't know either. She just wanted to be anywhere but here.

More shouts came. Harsher ones. All telling her to move off the busy road. She choked and nearly tripped as she moved around all of the furs zipping by. More eyes. More judgement. More bitterness. More belittlement.

She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to take it all back. She just wanted her normal life back. She wanted Paula back. She wanted _control_ back.

Even more shouting. Even more bitterness. Even more eyes. Even more hate.

No, she never had control. Her life was _never_ in her control. Everything was decided for her. Everyone but _her_ had a say in things.

More shouting. More hatred. More judgement.

There was no escaping it. There was no escaping _this_. If she was left alone, _they_ would catch her again. If she stayed out, _she_ would be arrested again. She was doomed from the very beginning.

More fear more pain more anger more belittlement more suffering more despair more More MORE **MORE MORE!**

.

.

.

Then she saw it.

Like a light in the darkness, Felicia's eyes were drawn to the familiar sight of Dr. Kagami's lab. All at once, her heart swelled, her ears perked and her pace quickened. There was no logic that went into her actions; she just wanted to see a familiar face again. Within seconds, she'd reached the door and pounded her fist against it.

"NOT NOW!" came the lion's voice, "Come on, of all the times for a dropped call-"

"Doctor it's me! Open up!"

"F-FELICIA?!" Seconds later, the door flew open. "Felicia how did-" He was cut off as she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly as all of the bottled up emotions she'd been harboring began to flood outwards in the form of uncontrollable sobbing. Dr. Kagami stumbled back from the impact. "Felicia what happen-"

"THEY KILLED HER!" she wailed, her voice muffled by his chest, "They framed me-THEY KILLED PAULA!" As she broke further down into tears, the lion reached out and closed the door.

"They? I don't-who's _they_?"

"The-" She gasped and shot up, releasing Dr. Kagami from her embrace as she rushed to the door and locked it.

"Felicia please tell me what's going on. I don't-"

"It's the HUMANS!" she shouted, voice once again trembling, "They-they kidnapped Paula and I and-and-and told me to keep my mouth shut! And-and then they let me go first but-but they kept Paula and...and please help me, Doctor I'm-I'm so scared!"

"Felicia slow down. You said the humans did this? Why would they do this, we've trusted each other for _years_ now and-"

"PLEASE BELIEVE ME," Felicia begged, nearly falling to her knees out of sheer exhaustion, "I-I have nowhere else to turn and-and I-" She stopped as she heard shattering in the other room. The second her eyes fell upon the metal carapace of her pursuers, her world went back to spiraling out of control.

"WHAT IN THE-"

"RUN!" she shrieked, grabbing onto the sleeve of Dr. Kagami's lab coat and tugging him along. Before she could reach the front door, a second robot leapt out and cut her off, slamming its arm against the frame and staring back at her vacantly. This time, the lion tugged _her_ along, grabbing her by the wrist and running in the other direction. They both screamed as the first one lunged at them. It _barely_ missed them, and it was only because Dr. Kagami had tripped at just the right time.

"IN HERE!" Managing to slip away, the doctor led her into one of the other rooms and slammed the door behind them. "Quick! Help me barricade this door!" With time short and robots pounding at the door, both furs grabbed the heaviest objects they could find and shoved them against it. With how little they had to work with, it was abundantly clear that they'd only bought themselves measly _minutes_. "Ok Felicia, we don't have much-" Dr. Kagami cut himself off as soon as he saw Felicia huddled up in the farthest corner of the room in a tight ball.

"It's all over," she trembled, "Once they break in, it's all over… They'll get rid of us like they got rid of Paula… They...th-they're GONNA-"

"FELICIA!" Dr. Kagami jolted her out of her paralyzed state by grabbing her shoulder, "Get ahold of yourself, they haven't broken in yet!"

"B-but they WILL!" she shouted back, "A-and there's no exit! What can we even _do_?!"

"I have an idea…" he sighed as he let her go and stepped away. Scared out of her mind and in desperate need to focus on anything else but her own fear, Felicia decided to follow the lion. Frantically, Dr. Kagami searched through the cupboards. "Where is it?" he hissed, "I just HAD IT." His eyes lit up as they fell upon a familiar device, the one he'd been using to analyze the feral DNA. He could barely keep his paws still as he turned it over and popped open a panel in the back, exposing various wires and buttons.

"Come on...please still work…" After fidgeting with it, he closed the panel and slapped the entire device against his midsection. The fact that it wasn't doing what he wanted it to was apparent in how he repeated the motion several more times before cursing harshly. "Of all the TIMES!" A reminder of how short their time was came in the form of a harsh _CRACK_. Then. with his ears flat, his tail fidgeting behind him, and his brow furrowed, Dr. Kagami turned to Felicia and said, "Felicia, can you come here, please?"

Confused and afraid, Felicia stepped forward, and he handed her the device. "Now, I need you to place this device on your waist for me." She did so, and the second she did, a belt shot out and snaked around her body, clamping onto the other end of the device and securing it in place. A defeated sigh left Dr. Kagami's throat. "Just like I thought… All of our experiments have calibrated the DNAnalyzer to you specifically."

"I don't...understand…"

"You don't need to right now…" he said as he went back into the cupboards, "but...there's one more thing I have to ask you to do…"

"And…" Felicia jolted as another harsh _CRACK_ rang from the door, "and what is it?"

When Dr. Kagami reemerged, it was with the box of DNA vials in paw. "I need to ask you to fight those things."

It took a moment for the tigress to process what she'd just heard. "...What?"

The lion kept talking as he set down the box to search through the many vials. "Felicia, I don't have time to explain. Those things are going to break through any second now, and I can't fight them as I am now."

"And you think I CAN?!"

Dr. Kagami threw his thumb back and pointed it at the device, "If _that_ thing still works the way it used to, then yes."

" _Used_ to?!"

"No time!" he shouted over a sudden surge of harsh banging. More and more cracks filled the room, followed by splinters flying past the two furs. Dr. Kagami stumbled back up and shoved a vial into Felicia's paw. "Quick! Before they break in! Slide the vial into the buckle and press the button on your right once it's analyzed!"

Felicia's gaze shot back and forth between him and the door. "I-I don't-"

Another harsh _CRACK_ , and this time, a full wood plank flew over their heads. "Felicia PLEASE!" With her paws trembling and left with no time to spare, Felicia shot her paw down and slid the vial inside.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

Felicia looked back up to the lion for support, but he had his eyes closed and his paws clasped tightly together, muttering, "please work please work please work…"

 **TIGER!**

"NOW!" As soon as Dr. Kagami screamed that, the last part of the barricade flew past their heads. With her heart pounding, her eyes wide and her entire body shaking uncontrollably, Felicia pressed down on the right button of the buckle.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

A sudden flash of light overtook her, filling her with an intense heat. Just when she thought she was about to explode, something clamped onto her wrist and crept up her arm. All at once, the creeping sensation shot all over her body, and she fell to her knees. Before she could get up, one of the robots dashed forward and clamped its hand tightly around her neck. "FELICIA!" the doctor shouted as Felicia was slammed against the wall.

He caught movement in his peripheral vision. His heart leapt as he saw the other robot lunge at him. Before it could reach him, a black blur slammed into it and sent it flying backwards. Stunned and confused, Dr. Kagami turned and saw Felicia's new form. Her entire body was covered in a tight, tiger-themed suit. Black, scale-like metal plates trailed down from her shoulder and formed a heavy gauntlet on her left arm. Long, white hair cascaded from her helmet and obscured her face.

It was then that the lion noticed something odd. Through the heavy, labored panting, she was trembling. Even more so than before. And listening carefully, he could hear growling. _Snarling._ "F...Felicia?" he called hesitantly. She didn't answer. Her snarls only sharpened. Before he could say anything else, rustling was heard from the door. He snapped his gaze back to see both robots recovering and clawing back to their feet. Again, the snarls sharpened. "F-Felicia?!" Sharper still. Even a jerk of her head. Then wood planks snapped as the robots planted their feet on the floor. Then even sharper snarls, this time accompanied by a lash of her tail. Then heavy footsteps from the robots as they both rushed her.

Then she snapped.

Everyone froze in place as Felicia's head shot up, and a primal, furious roar bellowed out from her. The next thing Dr. Kagami knew, Felicia was plowing her head into the gut of one of the robots. Her furious charge forced _both_ robots out into the more open room, where they tumbled across the floor when her charge ceased. Felicia remained on all fours as she watched them recover, snarling and lashing her tail around the entire time. One of them leapt at her the second it was up, and Felicia pounced up to meet it.

Another roar bellowed from her as she swiped her claws right across her assailant's head, leaving behind ugly gashes in its metal carapace. When both of them hit the ground again, Felicia was on top, and she was furiously clawing away at the robot. The other one quickly leapt in to help its partner, snaking its arm around her neck and squeezing tightly. This quickly silenced her savage snarls and ended her outrage against the one she was on top of.

Instead, that fury and hatred was passed to the one choking her out.

Without any restraint or grace whatsoever, Felicia furiously clawed at the offending arm and tore it to pieces. It didn't take long for it to be completely severed, releasing Felicia from its hold. She then _bashed_ the back of her head into the front of her assailant's before grabbing it in both paws and _flinging_ the entire thing across the room. Beakers, vials and cabinets were utterly obliterated as the robot's body crashed through the many shelves of the stock room, sending glass flying everywhere.

Just as Felicia got up to chase after it, the robot beneath her shot its arm forward and clamped its hand around her neck. Seconds later, Felicia's claws were tearing its arm apart. The robot attempted again with the other arm, only for it to meet the same fate. Still unsatisfied, Felicia began to tear through its torso, ripping out wires and panels like they were nothing. And when even _that_ wasn't enough to satisfy her, she opened the muzzle of her helmet, let out a furious roar and clamped her teeth around its neck.

With a crunch and a tear, the robot's head was ripped clean off of its body. It clattered to the floor as Felicia threw her head back to let out a roar of triumph. But her celebration gave the last remaining robot enough time to pick itself up off the ground. It picked up a broken table leg as it marched towards her. Felicia's ears picked up the sound of crunching glass and shot her gaze in its direction. She leaned her head back just in time to avoid getting impaled by the thrown leg, and shot down to all fours.

Her assailant charged at full speed, barely slowing down even as Felicia pounced upon it. It instead slammed her against the front door and began mercilessly beating its fist into the side of her head. Lights danced in her eyes with each blow, her consciousness slipping each time. She managed to shield herself with her arms, but it didn't slow down the robot one bit. What _did_ , however, was when Felicia used her clawed feet to tear through its abdomen and demolish the mechanics and circuitry inside.

It was all over once Felicia drove her foot forward with all of her might, obliterating the rest of the robot and demolishing the front door. She tumbled out into the open and startled the group of furs that had gathered outside of the lab, likely drawn in by the chaotic crescendo that had gone on inside. Confused murmurs and shouts filled Felicia's pounding head as she writhed, clawing at the dirt road. The second she saw that she was surrounded, she snarled harshly and shot up to all fours. This immediately made the crowd scatter like wind-swept ants, with everyone shrieking and shouting in terror as they fled from the ferocious beast.

Dr. Kagami emerged from his lab soon after, and after making sense of all of the chaos and commotion outside, he spotted Felicia crouched on the ground, cushioning the side of her head with a paw. He felt nothing but regret and guilt, seeing her there trembling in fear. Her tail was lashing around wildly behind her, and she swiped at every noise that assaulted her senses. Before he could call out to her, a rock flew through the air and struck her. Remaining on all fours, she snarled again and scrambled away from the place she'd been struck.

Dr. Kagami looked over in horror to see that some of the furs had stood their ground and were now throwing whatever they could find at Felicia. She flinched and retreated each time she was hit, crouching lower to the ground and swiping feebly at the air. He tried to run out to try and stop them, but by the time his foot was out the door, Felicia was far down the road, running away at full speed. "...What have I done?" he whispered to himself before running out after her.


	4. Chapter 3: Safety

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 3

Dr. Kagami stopped to lean against a tree, panting heavily. He'd been running as fast as he could until his age finally caught up to him. Now he had to wait for his breath to catch up to him as well. But even with the ache in his knees and the burning in his lungs, he knew he couldn't rest for too long. There was no telling how far Felicia had ran, or how scared out of her mind she still was.

At the very least, he knew he was on the right track (the claw marks on the ground were very good indications of that). With any luck, he'd find her before the sun could set. The lion took one last deep breath before pushing himself up and proceeding onwards. He absentmindedly traced his paws along the gnarly gashes left on some of the trees he passed. The fact that they'd barely reduced in frequency this far along the trail was troubling to him. He had to consciously prevent himself from thinking about the feral beast he'd seen mere moments ago.

He slowed his pace once he noticed the sudden decrease in gashes. He kept his ears perked and lightened his footsteps as he carefully scanned the area. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, but that somehow made him feel even more concerned. A pit began to form in his stomach as his eyes followed the remainder of Felicia's tracks trail up one of the tree trunks, all the way up to its branches. And from atop one of them, a set of glowing, green eyes stared down at him.

With only a moment to react, Dr. Kagami threw himself backwards before Felicia pounced down from her perch and drove her claws into where he'd just been. He scrambled backwards as Felicia pried her claws out of the small craters she'd just created. "F-Felicia listen to me," he stuttered, "Th-think about what you're doing. It's _me_. D-don't you remember me?" If she did, Felicia was showing no signs of it. She remained on all fours as she slowly circled around him. Dr. Kagami held a paw out as he carefully got back to his feet.

This only resulted in setting her off. Just as he began to rise, Felicia snarled and pounced. A cry left the lion's throat as he threw his arms over his face and prepared for the worst. But instead of getting torn to pieces, he was simply knocked back down to the ground. After gathering the courage to open his eyes again, he saw Felicia back to her regular self, clutching her head and hissing through her teeth. His head fell back as a huge sigh of relief left his throat. "The DNA must have run out… Just in the nick of time too…"

His relief melted away as he felt Felicia tremble atop him. He frowned and craned his head back up to find that she was burying her face into his chest, breaking down into tears. It was then that the doctor remembered all of the events that had led up to this. Thus, he allowed her to simply cry into him, and comforted her with soft pats every now and then. "D...doctor, I don't know what...what to do," she gasped between sobs, "M-my best friend is dead, I-I'm being framed for her...for her murder and...I-I just...I'm so afraid…"

"I know...I know…" Dr. Kagami trailed off as he glanced back at the trail of claw marks Felicia had left behind, "...Come on; we should get somewhere safe first. I don't know if anyone's following us, and I'd rather not wait to find out." The tigress just answered with a wordless nod. As the two of them climbed back up to their feet, Dr. Kagami looked up at the sky and spotted the giant ship floating in the air. As he gazed upon it, he couldn't help but wonder how well he _actually_ knew the human aboard it.

* * *

That human currently resided in one of the many rooms housed within the massive craft. Though physically, she was alone, Alpha was holding a conversation. NexUs, the disembodied voice of the ship, was speaking with her in their native language. "'I understand that it was called for,'" said Alpha, "'but to just accept that and move on… That's something I can't just do…'"

"'I understand,'" NexUs replied, "'I don't believe there is anything that can be done to remedy that. It may just be something you must live with.'" Alpha let out a disheartened sigh. "'I'm deeply sorry that I was unable to provide any further emotional support.'"

The human shook her head. "'No, it's alright. You've done your part. I'm glad you were able to act as my outlet for today.'"

"'Just try to remember our objective here. Perhaps if you remain focused on it, you'll be able to work more efficiently.'"

Alpha nodded thoughtfully. "'...You're...you're right. Thank you again, NexUs. You're being a bigger help to me than you probably realize.'" At that, she dismissed herself and left the room, clasping her hands behind her back. As she sauntered down the hall, an odd sense of loneliness began to set in. It was almost funny to think about. After two years of being awake on Earth again, she found herself opening up more to an artificial intelligence than to the other human she'd woken up with…

Reaching the end of the hall, she looked over to see the bulky, brawny silhouette of her fellow human, Omega. Though they were about the same height, the sheer mass of his armor made him appear much bigger than her. The black plates that comprised his armor were only broken up by glowing lines of blue. It seemed like an odd choice, giving such hulking armor to someone merely working at various consoles. Screens were floating all around him, showing various displays and stats.

A sense of longing began to tug at Alpha's heartstrings. His back was turned to her, and he showed no signs of wanting to move. But all she had to do was call out to him...take a step forward...and that would change. She slowly began to reach out, her legs tensing as she contemplated whether or not to approach. She delicately raised her foot off the ground, brought it forward, took a step forward and…

...turned away.

The sound of her heels clacking against the floor echoed down the hall as she made her way down it once more.

* * *

"We should be safe here," said Dr. Kagami as he guided Felicia into what appeared to be a small abandoned shack. The tigress clung to him the entire time, her eyes still too stained with tears to allow her to walk on her own. It was only when they were actually inside that she decided to let him go, albeit reluctantly. Their exhaustion caught up to them all in one instance, and the two of them practically collapsed to the floor. Whilst the lion allowed himself to slump against the wall, Felicia drew her knees up to her chin and curled herself into a tight ball.

"...Felicia?" Dr. Kagami called, noticing how still she'd become, "...how are you holding up?" She didn't answer, and he couldn't blame her. He could only imagine the kinds of things going through her head right now. Both of them had learned that the humans had something sinister planned, but it was Felicia that had to learn the hard way…

"I didn't even...get to say goodbye…" she muttered, "what do I...what do I even do now? Dr. Kagami...what am I supposed to do?"

"Well...uh...obviously we should...try and find a way to clear your name…"

"...How?"

"I...don't know yet..." Felicia's ears fell flat as he said that, "B-but at some point I'm going to. So until then, our best bet is to lay low and hide."

"Hide? _Here_? B-but the human's robots might be out here! W-what if they find us?!"

"Don't worry, they won't," Dr. Kagami answered, knowing full well that he had no way of knowing that, "and...even if they do, we have a way of fighting them off."

Felicia plucked the small, black device off of her waist, causing the belt to snake its way back inside. "You mean...this thing?"

"That's right. If we ever run into them again, the DNAnalyzer will give you the strength our ancestors once had. And as you saw, that strength is incredibly reliable." Even as he said this, Felicia's face showed no trace of assurance.

"But...I went crazy when I used it…" she said, a slight tremble in her voice, "I lashed out at everything… I-I almost attacked you!"

"It's only because of how afraid you were when you transformed. Once you start getting used to it, and you transform in a less agitated state, that will become _less_ of a problem." Felicia clenched up and shuffled around nervously. With a heavy heart, the lion climbed back up to his feet and handed her the DNA Vials he'd been carrying in his coat. "Ok, stay here. I need to go back to the lab and pick up the rest of the vials I left behind. While I'm at it I should probably grab us some food too-"

"W-wait! You're leaving me?!" The suddenness of Felicia's question made Dr. Kagami freeze up.

"Y-yes, I have to. Just stay right here so that I can come back to you-"

"N-no please don't leave me here all alone! Th-those things might come and find me and-"

"Felicia you _can't_ come! Are you forgetting that you're still a wanted criminal?!"

"I-I know but...b-but…" Felicia could barely get the words out; the way her throat was closing up on her was making it difficult. Seeing her this way, trembling uncontrollably and pleading with tears in her eyes, set off Dr. Kagami's paternal instincts.

Hissing through clenched teeth and flicking his tail anxiously, he said, "Alright...fine. You can come with me. But you _need_ to lay low. Understand?" Felicia nodded furiously, wiping away some tears in her eyes. At that, Dr. Kagami took off his lab coat and handed it to her. "Here. Try to wear this like a hood. And stay close to me."

* * *

With zero intent of lugging around a cumbersome case everywhere they went, the pair of felines opted to stuff all the vials into a backpack upon returning to the wreckage-littered lab. Then, as inconspicuously as they could, they sought out the nearest convenience store.

"Just wait outside for me," said Dr. Kagami, "and try to keep your head low. We don't want anyone to recognize you."

"B...but, if I stay out here long enough, those things might find me, and I'll have to...you know…"

"Well you said that they won't attack as long as you're in public, right?"

"Y...yeah…"

The lion then gestured to the cluster of furs making their daily commutes. "It's the middle of the day, and everyone's out and about. You should be fine."

"...alright…"

Dr. Kagami sighed and patted her shoulder. "I'll try to be quick." At that, he turned around and entered the store, leaving Felicia to herself. With her ears swiveling around and her tail flicking uncontrollably, she leaned against the nearest wall and tried to _not_ look like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her eyes darted this way and that as she scanned for anyone that might be looking her way. Though she caught a few casual glances, no one seemed to be paying her any mind, which did set her somewhat at ease.

That didn't last very long, however, as a ringtone blaring from her pocket nearly made her jump out of her fur. She fumbled with her paws for a bit until she finally managed to shove it down her pocket and pry out her phone. Amongst all of the chaos, she'd evidently forgotten she even had it with her. For a brief moment, she considered just silencing the device and pocketing it. But then she saw who it was that was calling. She didn't even think before answering and bringing the phone to her ear.

"...M-mom?"

Several minutes later, Dr. Kagami dumped the contents gathered in his arms out onto the checkout conveyor belt. "That sure is a lot of stuff you've got there," said the cashier as he scanned his first item, "Going somewhere?"

"You could say that, yes," Dr. Kagami nodded as he set down his bag, motioning for the cashier to put the items there, "Big trip ahead, so I gotta pack some food."

"Oh? Where are you headed?"

"...Places."

"...Rrrrrright," the cashier nodded as he dropped more items into the bag, "Well, you picked a good time to go out. You hear about that monster everyone's been talking about lately?"

"I uh...mostly keep to myself, so no."

"Real wild thing, from what I've heard," he went on, scanning the last item and pointing at the little display showing the total price, "Tore right through a door like it was made of paper."

"You don't say…"

"Yeah, it's got a lot of people worried. Even the _humans_ are getting involved."

The lion nearly dropped his card as he handed it to the cashier. "...Come again?"

"Oh you haven't seen them?" the cashier motioned towards the front of the store with the card before swiping it, "They sent out some fancy robots out into town to help set everyone at ease. _Androids_ , I think they called em. Been out on patrol all morning-uh, sir?!" Dr. Kagami didn't even look back as he snatched up his bag and rushed to the exit.

"M-mom, I'm sorry!" Felicia stammered as her parents screamed at her from the other side of the line, "I-I know, but I couldn't answer! N-no I can't tell you where I am right now. B-because…...m-mom, dad please stop yelling. I-I know you're upset but...bu…" As her gaze rose, her tail, ears and heart all fell at once. Because down the street, she noticed that furs were clearing the way for two very familiar looking individuals.

Not only were those robots completely out in the open, but they were also walking around like they'd been around here for years! Without even saying goodbye, Felicia hung up on her parents and hurried off in the opposite direction. Dr. Kagami barely emerged from the store in time to spot Felicia's tail just before it disappeared into the next block. The tigress kept her head down as she hastened her steps, fighting the urge to glance behind her in fear of exposing herself outright. She grit her teeth as she suppressed her urges to run, causing her legs to remain tense and rigid.

Then she stopped.

She'd nearly missed it, but through the windows of one of the stores, she saw her face on one of the many monitors displayed. It was one of her photos being shown on the local news broadcast, the headline being, "DANGEROUS KILLER AT LARGE". The photos that followed were those of the two cops that had tried to take her in…and her friend, Paula. All of whom were marked as either missing or dead. Once again, reality came crashing down on Felicia. She'd already known how bad her situation was, but to see it all laid out in front of her like this…

"K...KILLER!" A loud shout jolted Felicia out of her shocked state. She looked up and saw a fellow tiger pointing straight at her with a wild look in his eyes. She whirled around and, to her horror, saw _every single_ pair of eyes look _right at her_. And that included the eyes of the robots, the ones that were now _sprinting_ towards her. Seeing this was enough of an excuse to finally give into her instincts, which were telling her to get as far away from here as possible.

Though everyone's eyes were on _her_ , it seemed no one was brave enough to try and stop her. Everyone simply cleared the way as she and her pursuers ran down the street. Though this made running much easier, it did the same for the androids, both of whom were most _definitely_ gaining on her. Suddenly remembering that she had the capability of fighting back, she hastily tried to stuff her paws into her pockets to grab one of the vials inside. But the longer she struggled to do this in the middle of running, the more she realized that she'd have to _stop_ running first.

Dread threatened to wash over her as she turned and ran into a dead end. Her tail lashed around wildly as her paws fumbled with her pockets. Her heart hammered in her ears along with the foot stomps of her metal pursuers. Once she finally managed to pry a vial out from her pocket, she hastily and frantically shoved it into place.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

Every strand of fur on her back stood on end as she waited for the device to finish loading. Her eyes remained fixated on the opposite end of this dead-end alley, looking for even the _slightest hint_ of movement.

 **TIGER!**

Felicia's paws couldn't jolt any faster. She jammed her thumb against the DNAnalyzer's button just as the androids rounded the corner.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

The leading android was greeted with a swift swipe to the face as Felicia came running at it in all of her savage fury. Just as the second one tried to move, she slammed the crest of her helmet against its forehead, sending it tumbling after its partner. She then threw her head back and let out a furious roar that scattered the many fear-paralyzed onlookers. She snarled viciously at all of the frantic movement around her and crouched down on all fours. This momentary distraction gave the androids the chance they needed to recover and leap at her together.

Unable to dodge, Felicia suddenly found herself back in the alley and struggling against the combined weight of her adversaries. She snarled and snapped at them with her jaws, thrashing around violently in an attempt to fling them off of her. With that not working, she planted her paws on the ground before shoving herself back up, flinging herself back on her feet and slamming the two androids on her back into the wall behind her. She then ran out of their grasp and _up_ the opposite wall before leaping off of it and crashing down upon one of the androids.

After her claws ripped through its face, she plowed her foot into its gut. The abused machine slammed into, and nearly _went through_ , the wall behind it and crumpled to the ground as it ceased all functionality. Despite its partner's recent demise, the other android went in to attack. With mechanical precision, it grabbed onto a handful of Felicia's long, white hair and yanked her forward. This took her off balance and allowed it to grab the back of her head and bash it into the wall indent its partner had left behind.

Lights danced in Felicia's vision with each collision. She tried to swipe at it, but that only resulted in her arm getting grabbed and restrained. Her free paw dug into the wall as she fought against the android's strength. Even through the dull, throbbing pain in her head, she knew she had to run. And there was only one direction _to_ run. After one final head bash, Felicia dug her claws deeper into the wall and _heaved_ herself upwards.

Using her foot claws, she scaled up the building and hauled the android along with her. She only got another bound or two in before gravity took over her world once more. Thus, she allowed herself to fall and stare down the android that remained so stubbornly stuck on her arm. Just before they hit the ground, Felicia planted both her feet against the crook of its neck, clamping her claws on for good measure.

Gravity was most unkind to the android, as it smashed into the ground with the combined weight of itself _and_ Felicia. The rabid feline only added insult to injury by pushing back with her legs and tearing one of its arms off. She rolled and tumbled out of the alleyway, ending up not only on her feet but also incredibly lightheaded from the recent abuse. This didn't keep her from noticing the android wobble back up to its feet. Even with all of the damage it had sustained, it was still dead-set on going after her. Nothing was going to dissuade it; not even Felicia's harsh snarls.

She crouched low to the ground as soon as it came running at her at full speed. With her tail lashing around, she reeled back and hurled the android's severed arm back at it. The returning limb thwacked against its forehead and impeded its vision for the briefest of moments. But that was all it took for her to fling herself into the air and pounce forward. With a viscous roar, Felicia swung wide and cleaved the android's head clean off of its shoulders.

Both combatants hit the ground at the same time, but it was Felicia who got back up. She threw her head back as she let out a victorious roar that echoed through the air. It was loud enough to make Dr. Kagami flatten his ears and retreat back a step. Once it was over, he took his paws off his ears, took in a deep breath, and made his first, _cautious_ step forward. "Felicia?" He flinched as the tigress jolted and whirled around, shooting down to all fours and snarling harshly. Dr. Kagami held his paw out as he continued, "It's okay…it's just me… I'm your friend, remember?"

Though it was slight, Felicia did appear to ease up slightly. Her shoulders seemed to loosen and her head began to rise. This encouraged the lion to keep going. "We're safe now. You took care of those things, but now we need to leave. Do you understand me?" Felicia went right back down and let out a warning growl as soon as he took a step forward. Dr. Kagami stifled a frustrated growl of his own as he took a step back.

"Felicia, _please_. We seriously have to go. It's only a matter of time before people take notice of how much quieter it's gotten. So-so just turn back to normal, an-and we can go." There was a glimmer of hope as Felicia's gaze fell, making it seem as though she was pondering his words. There was hesitation in her movement as she slowly rose and reached for her belt. But just before her fingers could touch it, the loud wail of fast-approaching sirens sent her right back into hostility.

She snarled harshly as she frantically searched for the source of the noise. "Nononono it's okay!" Dr. Kagami frantically assured her, "Just de-transform so we can go!" Felicia's gaze fell back on him, and he felt his heart skip a beat. She looked so scared and ready to pounce. Her arms were incredibly tense and her tail was whipping around madly. Then, to his horror, her legs began to tense up. The doctor felt his life flash before his eyes as Felicia with her claws splayed out. Rather than being torn to shreds, Dr. Kagami found himself tossed over Felicia's shoulder before she got back down on all fours and took off at full speed down the road.

* * *

If there was anything for Omega to be grateful for over his more mechanical body, one of them had to be the lack of a need to sit down. Hours upon hours, he'd been standing in the same spot, darting his eyes back and forth between the same displays, and dancing his fingers across the same keyboard. Not _once_ did he ever need to sit down and rest. Much like breaks, chairs were a thing of the past for him. It had been this way for him for over a year now, and there were no signs of this changing any time soon.

Time was of the essence. Data needed to be analyzed. Modules needed to be maintained. All of it fell upon _him_ to maintain, and with fatigue no longer a problem, Omega saw no reason to let himself slow in his progress. _Most_ of the time, anyways.

Despite how hard he'd been working, it hadn't gotten past him that he and Alpha had grown much more distant from each other. Not only in the literal sense, but also in the metaphorical. With Alpha having taken up the more social role of the two humans, Omega often found himself feeling alone at his consoles, accompanied only by the disembodied voice that was NexUs. Being that he rarely (if ever) conversed with the AI, he more often than not remained in utter silence.

Both humans seemed to have grown accustomed to the old habit of leaving the other to their own devices, but whether or not Omega himself was okay with that was another story entirely.

His fingers paused as he caught the sounds of Alpha's clacking heels from down the hall. This made him remember a time when NexUs used to announce her returns to the ship. As time went on, and the two talked to each other less and less, the need for an announcement became obsolete, and eventually, NexUs was instructed to forgo them altogether. Omega's unblinking eyes began to trail away from his displays and towards the hall behind him. Though he never turned around, he always knew how this went. Alpha would enter the room, say nothing, and walk right past him and into the next room.

For whatever reason, Omega felt the need to change that today.

Though it took several tries, the human managed to pry himself away from his console and turn around just in time to see Alpha enter. She stopped mid-stride as she took notice of his sudden change in stature. It seemed that it wasn't just Omega who'd forgotten what it was like to look the other in the eyes. "'H…hello, Alpha,'" he said to her in their native tongue. It took the other human a bit of time to adjust before she could respond.

"'…Hello dear. Is…something wrong?'"

"'Um…'" Omega seemed to need adjustment time as well; it felt like it'd been ages since he'd last heard his own voice, "'N-no, everything's fine. I just…I'd like to provide an update on our progress.'"

"'…oh…'" Alpha's gaze fell slightly as she nodded, "'yes, of course. Please…continue.'"

Omega cleared his throat more out of habit than anything else. "'Overall progress has been kept at a steady pace. The station the androids have constructed here is well on its way.'" Alpha merely nodded at him when he paused. "'R…resources are still at a low, but the androids have done well in taking advantage of the ones available in town. By my estimates, the station should be complete by the end of the month.'"

Alpha's gaze trailed off to the side. "'…That's very good, dear. Very good…'"

Omega shuffled his weight between his feet. "'Uh, also, the tiger girl was spotted again.'"

"'She was?'" Alpha snapped her gaze back to him.

"'Y-yes. An android pair pursued her, but they were destroyed before they could neutralize her.'"

Alpha's shoulders suddenly sagged, and Omega almost thought he heard her let out a held breath. "'V-very good, dear. Thank you for the update. I'll leave you to your work now.'"

"'Wait.'"

"'No, I've taken enough of your time already.'"

"' _Wait_.'" Omega halted her escape with a firm hand on her shoulder. Her back remained turned on him as he went on. "'Is that really all you have to say to that? 'Very good'?'"

"'I don't believe I stuttered.'"

"Alpha.'"

The other human tugged her shoulder out of his grasp and stepped forward. "'You've given your update; there's nothing more to be said here.'"

"'Alpha, wait.'" Cold silence hung in the air as Alpha stopped in her tracks. "'You don't seem happy in the _slightest_ over our progress here. If anything, you're _bitter_ over it. Tell me what's wrong.'"

"'There is _nothing_ to be said here.'"

"'Don't tell me you're still hung up over this.'"

"'I said there's _nothing_ to be _said_ here.'"

"'Do you STILL have sympathy for these people?'"

"'I said there's NOTHING TO BE-'"

"' **Answer. The. Question.** '"

For a good, looooong while, she _didn't_.

"'Alpha, I don't need to remind you how pointless it is to be crying over these…animals. Regardless of your feelings towards them, their fate is already decided. Getting attached to them will only make you suffer more, so you're better off severing your personal ties with them sooner than later.'"

"'…You don't need to remind me.'"

"'REALLY? Because this isn't the _first_ time we've had this conversation, Alpha. And for whatever reason, I feel as though this won't be the _last_ either. How many more times will it take before you finally listen to reason?'"

"'You very well know that's a question I can't answer, so why must you waste our time _asking_ it?'"

"'For the same reason I've asked you all of those other times before; to remind you of our purpose here…'" A tense silence hung in the air, and Alpha refused to be the one to break it. Omega only did after resting a firm hand on her shoulder once more. "'We're still on the clock here, and until we actually accomplish our goals, we'll _always_ be on the clock. I'm not wasting any of that time because of that...and you shouldn't either.'"

Silence hung again, but this time it was clear that Omega wouldn't be the one to break it. "'…if you're so keen on not wasting any time…then you should stop _doing so_ …and get back to work.'" At that, Alpha shoved Omega's hand off of her shoulder and stormed out of the room. A harsh curse left Omega's throat as he found himself in isolation yet again. With a heavy heart and a mind riddled with frustration, the human returned to his console, and quietly resumed in his work.

Alone.

Once more.


	5. Chapter 4: Trust

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 4

Dr. Kagami couldn't help but notice the familiarity of the situation he and Felicia were now in. Once again, the two of them were out of breath and trudging their way through the forest. Only this time, the old lion was tossed over Felicia's back as she traversed the forest floors on all fours. Soft growls of effort left her throat with every struggle of gravity, however slight they may be. Dr. Kagami felt odd _still_ being carried, especially with how tired Felicia seemed to be, and how slow she was going. Given the form she was currently in, though, the doctor didn't feel safe enough to speak up about it.

It turned out he didn't need to either way, because without warning, Felicia dumped him off to the side with a tilt of her shoulders. By the time Dr. Kagami stopped tumbling, the tigress collapsed to the ground with him, her transformation cast away with a flash of light. The young feline panted heavily as she lay still, allowing her limbs to finally get the rest they deserved. "You did good out there, Felicia," said Dr. Kagami once he managed to collect himself, "That was quick thinking on your part; I'm not sure if we would've been able to outrun the cops if you'd undone your transformation then and there."

"…Why did it have to be me?"

"…I'm sorry?"

" _Why…_ did it have to be _me_?"

Dr. Kagami sat up. "I…don't think I follow."

For a brief moment, nothing was said. "Out of _all_ the furs in the world, why was it _me_ that ended up here? Why did _I_ have to be the one getting chased by killer robots and deranged humans? It could've been _anyone else_ in this town, but it had to be ME. _I_ had to be the one to that got too curious about a stupid rumor. _I_ had to be the one to see more than I should have. _I_ had to be the one to lose my best friend…and be _hunted_ by the humans…and be _stuck_ …in this _mess_ …that I have _no control over_ …" Felicia's voice failed her, making her devolve into nothing but soft, whimpering sobs.

Dr. Kagami found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to comfort her, but…how _could_ he? What could he possibly say to her at a time like this? But then it occurred to him that, up until this point, he hadn't really had the chance to have a genuine talk with her about everything that had happened. If there was ever a time she needed someone to talk to, it was most _definitely_ now.

As quietly as he could, he scooted over to Felicia and sat behind her. "I'm here for you," he whispered, "Keep going, I'm listening."

Felicia's ears swiveled back, and her tail coiled around her thigh. She slowly dragged her limbs closer to her chest until she was curled up in a tight ball. The next outward breath she made tremored, prompting her to tuck her snout between her knees. "I just…hate this. I hate everything _about_ this. I never asked for this, I never wanted this, and I want nothing to _do_ with this! And Paula _never_ should've gotten wrapped up in all of this! She didn't deserve to go out that way! It SHOULD'VE…it…" Her voice trembled. "…it should've been me…"

"Hey now, you don't really mean that…"

"But I DO!" Felicia suddenly shot up and stared Dr. Kagami right in the eyes. "If-if _I_ had been the one that was put down, at least Paula would still be around!"

"Felicia."

"She'd be able to live her life and actually _do_ something with it, in-instead of _squandering_ it like me!"

"Felicia!" The tigress clammed up immediately, flattening her ears and drawing all of her limbs closer to her body once more. Dr. Kagami's heart fell upon seeing her so distraught and hopeless. It was abundantly clear that all of this was more than she could take. Her bottom lip was quivering, she was barely managing to keep herself from trembling, and she was on the brink of tears. It made him regret raising his voice on her, even if it had been necessary. Thus, he took on a softer tone as he went on, "Felicia…you aren't squandering life…okay? You're doing the best you can with what you have. And it _shouldn't_ have been you. It shouldn't have been _either_ of you. Regardless of who it was that…that bit the dust, people are still losing a loved one.

"I know that this isn't what you want to hear right now, but you _need_ to; if you had been the one that the humans took, your friend would still be in a similar position. She would've been heartbroken, lost and confused. And odds are she'd end up being hunted by the humans too."

"What are you…trying to say to me? That I should…look at the glass half _full_? My friend is still DEAD!"

" _No_ , I…" the lion winced and bit at his bottom lip, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm not good at these kind of talks. A situation like this requires someone more qualified than me to help you talk through it. But…since I'm the only one here, I can only do my best." As Felicia stared back at him blankly, Dr. Kagami realized that this _also_ wasn't something she wanted to hear right now. "Felicia, I don't want you to just try and look at the bright side of things. You lost your best friend, and there's nothing that could possibly make that better for you. But, I _also_ don't want you to think that all hope is lost. All things considered, you're in the _best_ position someone in your situation can be right now."

"… _How_?!" Felicia was genuinely confused and frustrated by this.

"Well, _think_ about it. You managed to escape those androids because you happened to know the _one_ fur in this town that had a box of literal superpowers sitting in his lab. Anyone else's journey would've come to an end the second those androids showed up, but you… _yours_ didn't! So many things could've gone wrong before you got to me. You could've taken a wrong turn, be caught by the police again, and hundreds of other things I'm probably not aware of. But you managed to beat those odds."

There was an orange tint in the sky now. "I know I'm about to sound like a broken record here, but you are incredibly lucky to be here right now. It's ironic to be bringing up humans now, but back when they were still here, there was one that calculated the odds of a single human's existence. Those odds were _infinitesimally_ small! Genetics, evolution, coupling, all of these things played a role in determining whether or not a certain individual would come to exist. It's the same thing for _us_.

"Our ancestors all had to survive through years upon years. They had to hunt for their food, fight against other species, all in continuously shrinking habitats. And even as millions of species went extinct, our ancestors didn't. And _they_ were the ones that survived long enough to bear their offspring, who bore their own, and so on and so on. All leading up to a chance evolution, prompted by radiation that most _certainly_ should've ended life on Earth altogether. And through all of that… _all_ of that, it's _you_ that came into existence, and it's _you_ that's managed to get here and be sitting here in this forest with me."

After a while, Felicia opened her mouth to speak, only to end up choking. It took a moment for Felicia to regain her voice. "O…okay… So I got a little lucky… What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that, with all of that in mind, it would be a real shame if you just gave up here and now. I can see it in your eyes, Felicia; you want to just…give in and leave yourself at the mercy of the world. But you don't have to, because there's still hope. With the kind of luck that you have, you can overcome _any_ situation. And that includes this one."

Throughout the entirety of the conversation, Felicia had been fighting back tears. But now, after hearing this, that fight was a lost cause. Tears flooded out of her eyes as she broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Her hair fell over her face as her head sagged from all the emotional weight she'd been carrying. It was then that Dr. Kagami closed the gap between them to properly comfort her. The tigress leaned against him as he planted a paw on her shoulder, gently rubbing it and helping to coax out the last of Felicia's harbored tears.

As she emptied out her emotional baggage, the lion couldn't help but be reminded of his own. His thoughts once again drifted to the human responsible for all of this. After spending so much time bonding with her, getting to know her, and exchanging life stories with her, it was still hard to believe that she'd so easily betrayed his trust like this. How many lies had she told? How ready had she been to stab him in the back? And probably the most prominent question of all…the one that made his heart ache the most…

Why?

* * *

"Please, please, not so many questions at once," Alpha said as calmly as she could to the rowdy crowd that had gathered around her, "I can only answer one question at a time."

"What was that beast?!"

"How long have you had those robots for?!"

"How come we've never seen them before?!"

" _Please_! Settle down!" Alpha pleaded the crowd. Very few furs seemed willing to fulfill her plea. "I promise to answer as many questions as I can, but I can't do so with all of you in such disorder!" Again, it was clear that no one was listening to her. They only seemed to grow angrier.

That, however, didn't last. Alpha clasped her hands behind her back as the sounds of metal stomps filled the air. The furs in the back of the crowd nearly jumped out of their pelts as a squad of androids marched towards the human's side. Tigers and tigresses were left in stunned silence one by one as more androids marched in. The mechanical beings eventually formed a line in front of Alpha, blocking her off from the crowd. Once there was a consistent silence among the group, the androids stepped to the side and allowed her to take the front.

"Now then," she finally continued, "If those of you who have questions could please raise your hands, I would be more than happy to answer them."

Everyone seemed reluctant to so much as _twitch_ now. Eventually, though, a fur motioned towards the squad of androids and asked, "Since when did you have…these?"

Alpha cast a sideward glance towards the nearest one. "These androids were designed as guard units for both me and my partner, meant to keep us safe in any possible hostile environments. We haven't needed them till now, thus they've remained in our ship for the past few years of our visit."

With that fur satisfied, another raised his paw to ask, "Do you know anything about the beast?"

"I'm afraid not," Alpha answered without missing a beat, "My partner and I are looking into it. For now, I ask that you all remain patient with us."

"Why not get those heroes from Japan to protect us?" shouted one from the crowd.

"Yeah! They fight monsters all the time! They can probably deal with something like this!"

Several other furs began to speak up in support, nudging the crowd back towards their prior chaos. However, the loud, unified stomps of the androids' feet quickly put an end to it. Alpha held up her hand towards her "guardians" before she replied, "That will not be necessary. My partner and I are perfectly equipped to deal with situations like this. I assure you there is nothing to be afraid of… Any other questions?" Silence hung in the air, and no one seemed intent on disturbing it.

"Well then," Alpha went on, "if that's all, then I must get back to work." No one stood in her way as she dismissed herself from the crowd. Not even the androids budged until she'd walked well past the last one in their line. Only one trailed behind her, the others dispersing along with the crowd. Alpha paid it no mind as her eyes trailed from the darkening sky back down to what she'd been inspecting prior to the sudden confrontation.

A trail of claw marks leading down the road.

* * *

By now, Felicia's sobs had calmed to the occasional sniffle or shuddering breath. "Feeling better?" Dr. Kagami asked after giving her another minute to collect herself.

"…a little," she murmured, removing her face from his chest. She let out another small sniffle as she rubbed her eyes, "Thank you…for that…"

Dr. Kagami smiled softly and patted her shoulder. "You're welcome, Felicia. I could tell you really needed that." The tigress nodded and took her paw away from her eyes. "Just remember; if you ever need to talk things out like this, I'm here for you."

"Well…I mean…you kind of _have_ to be… Heh…" Seeing Felicia be in a light enough mood to make a quip like that made Dr. Kagami's heart swell a little. "But…yeah, I appreciate that. I'll keep that in mind." With a soft sigh, the tigress scooted herself out of the lion's embrace and drew her knees up to her chest. "So…what should we do now?"

"That certainly is the question of the hour," Dr. Kagami replied with a thoughtful swish of his tail, "We still have to clear your name, but that's a lot harder to do with those _things_ patrolling the town. And even if they _weren't_ , odds are that Alph…th-the humans won't give you the chance to plea your innocence in court…" As he went deep into thought, his ears lowered and his tail continued to swish.

"So…our best bet would be to…expose the _humans_?"

The lion's ears rose as his eyes widened. "Yeah… _Yeah_. That's it! But how do we do that—"

"D-DOCTOR!" Both furs felt their instincts kick in as the sounds of fast-approaching metal feet reached their ears. They were up just in time to see the glow of an android's yellow eyes pierce through the darkness of the trees. They hastily threw themselves to the side as it dove at them at full speed. After everyone hit the ground with loud thumps, a mad scramble broke out to see who would get back up first. Though the android won that race, it was quickly brought back down by a clumsy tackle from Dr. Kagami.

"I lost track of time!" he snarled, "It must've followed your claw marks!" The android easily tossed him off of it as it rose again, but the lion remained vigilant and used his weight to pin it again. "Quick! You gotta transform!"

Realizing she'd ended up paralyzed from the shock, she snapped herself out of it and jammed her paw into her pocket. Just as she tore a vial out from it, Dr. Kagami was once again thrown off of the android. "Doctor!" Without warning, another set of arms shot out and grabbed onto her wrist. Felicia shrieked and whirled around to meet the eyes of yet another android. All of her back fur stood on end as she struggled to free herself from its grasp.

"F-Felicia!" The tigress' heart leapt to her throat as the sounds of Dr. Kagami's desperate call reached her ears. She whipped her head back to see that the other android had pounced atop him and was holding him down.

"DOCTOR!" Adrenaline surged through her veins. Another of her close friends was being threatened because of her, and she wasn't about to stand for that. With a harsh snarl, she stomped her foot against the face of her robotic assailant and pried her hand free. As it tumbled away, Felicia jammed the vial into her belt.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

With a loud roar, she bolted forward and smacked the DNAnalyzer's button.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

In a flash, her hexagon-shaped armor plates clamped onto her along with the rest of her suit, transforming her back into the rabid beast from before. She spread her claws as she pounced atop the android restraining Dr. Kagami, freeing him and taking the android for a spin. Whilst the android ended up on its back by the end of their tumble, Felicia ended up on all fours, snarling harshly as her tail lashed around wildly.

Her gaze snapped to the other android as she noticed it was getting back up faster than the lion. She bellowed out and took off at full speed, kicking herself off the ground and clearing over Dr. Kagami to bash her armored shoulder into the android. As it flew across the forest floor, Felicia backed up until she was directly in front of him. Her claws dug into the ground as she stared down both androids and let out a protective snarl.

It was hard to tell if that was a sign that Felicia was gaining further control over herself, or if that was a sign of genuine care. Whatever the answer, Dr. Kagami was happy none-the-less. All combatants charged at the same time, with Felicia racing towards them on all fours. She leapt into action just before they collided, allowing her to slam her weight into the leading adversary. However, this allowed the other android to slip right past her and towards the doctor.

Felicia left claw marks all over the first android's chest as she kicked herself off of it and gave chase to the next. Dr. Kagami scrambled backwards as it closed more and more space between them. Just before its hands could reach him, Felicia grabbed onto its arm and slung it back in the other direction. Dr. Kagami's heart jumped to his throat when he saw that the android was caught by not one, but _two_ others. By the time Felicia noticed it too, they were already charging forward.

The lead one ended up on the receiving end of Felicia's swipe while another trapped her in a bear hug. This allowed the last one to rush right past her and capture Dr. Kagami in a similar hold. Whereas he didn't have the strength to fight his way out of it, Felicia did. With the restricted movement she had, she dug her claws into the sides of her would-be-captor and tore into them, eviscerating any and all inner machinery inside. Deeper and deeper she dug until there was nothing left to dig.

Though its entire lower body fell to the ground uselessly, its upper body stubbornly clung on. Thus, the enraged Felicia simply clawed at its back until she could tear the entire thing cleanly in half. As soon as it was off of her, she whirled around and lunged at the android dragging Dr. Kagami along. Before she could reach it, the android with half of its face missing caught her in a full nelson. She thrashed around in an effort to escape, but that only resulted in her losing her balance.

The android used that as a chance to swing around and slam her head against a nearby tree. Felicia tried to struggle after the initial, dizzying impact, but the most she could do was writhe in place. Her attacker drew her head back before banging it against the trunk again, filling her vision with stars. Not intent on re-living the experience a _third_ time, Felicia opened her maw wide and bit down on the trunk. The tree's bark crunched and cracked between her jaws as the android tried to yank her backwards again.

Felicia used the android's momentary falter to claw her feet up the tree and kick herself off of it entirely. The android's inner mechanics were completely demolished as the force of her kick and the weight of her body crushed it against the forest floor. Felicia rolled onto all fours and saw the last android making a break for it with the flailing Dr. Kagami hung over its shoulders. A predatory roar echoed through the sky as she raced after them.

Every bound she made brought her closer and closer, but just before she could reach them, another android leapt out from the trees and slammed into her. It brought her to an abrupt halt and forced her to struggle against its weight. Then, just as she managed to find leverage against it, _another_ leapt out and piled onto her. Then another, and then another, and then _another_. So many arms were grabbing at her, and so much weight was bearing down on her. When pushing up against them proved futile, Felicia made a ferocious swing at their legs.

Whilst those androids fell, she scrambled right back up to her feet. The other androids were ready and immediately attacked. They struck from all sides, pummeling her mercilessly. Lights danced in her eyes with every blow to the head, and nausea surged from her stomach with every blow to her gut. She swiped at them out of desperation, but all she managed to accomplish was nick a couple of the androids' faces. "FELICIA GET OUT OF THERE!" Dr. Kagami screamed as he struggled against his captor's grip, "let GO of me! FELICIAAA!"

Another ferocious swing, and even less damage dealt. All of the pain, dizziness and nausea slowed her significantly and made it that much easier to avoid her attacks. A swift kick to the back of her knees brought her down. She let out one last defiant roar, reaching her arm out towards Dr. Kagami before a decisive blow to the head took her out completely. Dr. Kagami cried out in horror as Felicia toppled like a bag of bricks being tipped over.

Her armor flashed out of existence after she hit the ground, making her easy pickings for the cluster of androids swarming around her. "Don't you dare lay a FINGER ON HER!" Dr. Kagami snarled as the tigress was tossed over the shoulder of one of the androids, "Felicia! Felicia WAKE UP! You need to wake up before they…they…" The lion felt his voice fail him as his gaze subconsciously shifted from Felicia's unconscious form to a hauntingly familiar silhouette standing just beyond her. The elegant skirt piece, the intricate and embellished crest, and the long, flowing hair were unmistakable even in the darkness of the night.

The androids began to move before Dr. Kagami had the chance to confirm his suspicion, taking him and Felicia away to destinations the lion could only imagine. As they left, Alpha made a step towards them. She was stopped in her tracks as NexUs' voice entered her mind. "'Alpha, it's time to return to the ship,'" they announced, "'You're running low on oxygen and require immediate replenishment.'"

Alpha's legs tensed as she fought herself from taking another step. "'B…but I must—'"

"'Alpha, please. You've spent longer outside than I've advised. You're dangerously low and require a refill. Please return immediately.'"

The human's gaze remained on the increasingly distant view of Dr. Kagami as she hissed, "'…Fine. I'm coming. Just take Felicia inside the facility and leave the doctor out. I'll come back for him as soon as I'm done.'"

"'Understood.'"

Alpha's gaze lingered on Dr. Kagami for just a bit longer before she begrudgingly tore it away from him and she marched off in a different direction.

* * *

Felicia was roused from her unconscious state by being unceremoniously tossed onto the floor by her captor. She kept her eyes scrunched closed for a moment before opening them and seeing the cluster of androids looming over her. She drew in a sharp breath, only to find that doing so was incredibly difficult. A quick glance at her surroundings told her exactly where she was; in the exact room she'd woken up in the first time she'd come across the android-infested building. Her heart hammered away and pumped adrenaline all throughout her body.

Despite this, she could move no faster than a sloth. Her limbs felt like they had weights attached to them, and the constant struggle to breathe wasn't helping either. The sight of her apparent struggle seemed to satisfy the androids. They dispersed from the scene with seemingly no concern over applying any sort of restraint on her, and given her current state, it was clear why. It was taking all of her concentration to keep herself from passing out again. With Dr. Kagami still in the androids' hands and her basically on the chopping block here, she absolutely couldn't afford to pass out now.

As Felicia struggled to take another breath, she tried to focus on Dr. Kagami. He was in danger now, and no one out there was going to save him. She'd already lost her closest friend to these humans; she wasn't ready to lose _another_.She HAD to get up. She HAD to escape somehow. With a _tremendous_ amount of effort, Felicia raised her head to look down at the DNAnalyzer. For whatever reason, the androids had not bothered in confiscating it. Whether it was due to ignorance or confidence in her demise was something she wasn't concerned with now.

Her chest tightened as she took in another breath. Once it was finally in, she held it and _heaved_ her arm up. She bit down on her lip as she struggled against gravity as well as the desire to refill her lungs. This struggle forced her to close her eyes in order to focus purely on the task at hand. Her heart leapt once she felt her thumb reach the DNAnalyzer's activation button, but when clicking it several times failed to prompt any sort of response from the device, her heart continued its hammering.

Her mind began to race. Why wasn't it working? Was this it? Had her luck finally run out? The breath she'd been holding was involuntarily released, as her body simply couldn't take much more of it. As a new struggle to draw in another breath began, her head began to feel light, and her vision began to blur. No! Not yet! She had to hold out. If not for her own sake, then for Dr. Kagami's. She had to stay calm. If it wasn't working, than odds were that the DNA vial inside had run dry.

Her jaw clenched as she held her breath again and reached for the vial. Her fingers failed to catch hold of its cap several times before she managed to find proper grip with her claws. She yanked it out and allowed it to clatter uselessly onto the floor beside her. Then, easing her breath out as slowly as she could, she reached into her pocket and dug around for another vial.

She bit down on her lip and clenched her eyes shut as she pried her paw out from her pocket, fighting just to keep her arm up. With all the strength she could muster, she brought her paw back to the DNAnalyzer and clumsily stuffed the vial inside.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

Unable to hold her breath for any longer, she coughed it out and smacked her thumb against the device's button.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Felicia's armor flashed into existence, and as its strength flowed into her body, so too did air flow into her lungs. She shot up like a spring and panted heavily, suddenly finding it much easier to breathe. Her confusion over this was rapidly overpowered by her fear over Dr. Kagami's safety. With not even a minute spared, Felicia shot onto all fours and charged forward. Immediately, she could hear the army of androids begin to scramble their way back to her through all of the pipes and machinery obscuring her path.

In the next second, five different androids came at her from all sides. Felicia merely thrust her claws out and allowed her momentum take care of the rest. The androids that had jumped in front of her were quickly eviscerated by her mad dash. This treatment quickly carried over to anything and everything else that got in her way. Pipes, androids, walls, undefined machinery, if it was in her way, it was torn to shreds.

Sparks flew, androids fell, alarms blared; the entire facility was in pure chaos. She was destroying some clearly important things, but she couldn't have cared less. Right now, the most important thing on her mind was saving Dr. Kagami. Some of the androids chasing her leapt onto her back, but they couldn't even so much as slow her in her rampage. With a resounding roar, Felicia leapt forward and crashed through a wall. Metal parts and scraps went flying into the air as she obliterated the androids clinging onto her and flung herself into the open wilderness. "DOCTOR!" her voice boomed as she landed back on the forest floor. Her gaze whipped back and forth as she desperately tried to find him.

"OVER HERE!" Felicia's head shot up the second she heard his voice, immediately filling her heart with relief and happiness. With a sharp lash of her tail, she took off in the direction she'd heard him and quickly spotted him in the distance. An android was still holding him firmly, and several more were on their way to intercept her. "FELICIA!"

"DOCTOR!" Her outward cry suddenly felt more of a rallying one as she took off at full speed, nearly tearing off the very ground beneath her with her claws in the process. The sight of the doctor quickly became blocked by the horde of androids running at her. Anger suddenly swelled from within her, and she snarled, "Get AWAY FROM HIM!" With a furious bellow, Felicia barreled through android after android, obliterating everything in her way as she'd done inside the facility mere moments ago.

Her rampage only ended once several androids managed to pile onto her to the point where she simply couldn't power through them all. "FELICIA, NO!" Dr. Kagami screamed as more and more of them began to pile on. With each android that was added to the pile, the more his heart began to sink. Felicia's roars had ceased, and none of her many assailants looked willing to budge.

All it took was a minute to prove that their compliance wasn't necessary.

The pile appeared to mimic the heart throbbing in Dr. Kagami's chest; violently expanding and contracting. Then, from within the mechanical writhing mess of robotics emerged the gauntleted and clawed arm of Felicia. Moments later, she tore the rest of herself free and let out a triumphant roar that echoed through the night's sky. With one final thrash, the rabid tigress tore herself out of the pile and landed back on solid ground. The androids that hadn't been eviscerated scrambled out of the pile, with most going after her, but some hurrying over to Dr. Kagami.

"I said. Get. AWAY FROM HIM!" Felicia snarled as she threw her arms back and barreled forward. She let out a defiant roar as they all came rushing at her. The ferocity of her first swing completely demolished the leading android. The one that followed threw a heavy roundhouse kick that was blocked by the thick plates of her gauntlet. She shoved that one aside, opening herself up to allow one of the androids to come flying in at her.

But rather than wait for it to come down, Felicia met it halfway by leaping up herself. The flying kick she jammed into its chest knocked it down onto several of its allies, demolishing them all at once. Her tail and hair all whipped around as she twisted in the air and landed on all fours. She immediately shoved herself back up to two feet to avoid having her head get bashed in by an androids fist. The machine ended up jamming its fist into the earth as a result, allowing her free range to plow her foot into its side and send it flying into its companions.

Before any other move could be made, ear splitting alarms blared from the facility. All of the androids responded to this by completely abandoning the two felines altogether and sprinting back inside. Felicia's eyes followed them back to the hole she'd left behind and saw that a raging fire had begun from within. Adrenaline surged down to her legs before she whirled around and raced towards Dr. Kagami. "GET DOWN!" was all she shouted as she dove at him. The lion's eyes were wide as he shot down to a tight ball.

Mere seconds after Felicia draped herself across him, an earth-tremoring explosion tore through the facility behind her. A pained cry escaped her throat as sharp debris pelted her and intense heat seared at her back. Her hair and tail flailed along with the force of the explosion as it swept past her and Dr. Kagami. Once it finally passed, Felicia slumped against the balled up doctor, her hair hanging over the face of her mask.

"F-Felicia!" Dr. Kagami exclaimed, helping to prop her up as he un-balled himself from her, "Are you alright?! Are-are you hurt?!"

Felicia's shoulders heaved with every breath as she reached up and brushed several strands of hair away from her face. "I…I'm fine. Wh-what about you though? Did they hurt you?"

Dr. Kagami couldn't help but chuff and shake his head. "No I'm fine. Now come on. We should go before-" Suddenly, Felicia yanked him back up to his feet and shoved him behind her. She crouched slightly as she snarled and held an arm protectively in front of the lion. It took a few seconds for him to recollect himself before he was able to notice the source of Felicia's sudden hostility.

Several meters away stood the mechanized human, Alpha. Her blank, emotionless eyes burned into them like the fires that were riddling the destroyed facility. "…What did…" she began, her voice failing her several times, "…what did you do?" Felicia's answer was nothing but a harsh snarl.

"Alpha…" came Dr. Kagami's voice. Alpha felt her heart wither as she looked into the fearful, betrayed eyes of the lion, "What's going on? How could you have… _done_ all of this?"

Alpha's voice faltered again. "…I…I never meant to—"

"HOW COULD YOU MURDER MY BEST FRIEND?!" Felicia cut her off, her voice riddled with hate and anger.

"I…I—"

"Don't get ANY CLOSER!" Dr. Kagami's voice boomed, making her hold her foot in the air mid-step. "Felicia, we need to go."

"N-no wait I—" Felicia cut her off again with a snarl, freezing her mid-step once more.

"Felicia, let's GO!" The angry, green eyes of Felicia's mask bore into Alpha for a moment longer before she propped Dr. Kagami up on her back and rushed out of the scene. The human took one step forward, holding her hand out towards the two furs as they disappeared into the darkness of the night. She fell to her knees and moved her gaze over to the burning building set before her. As she stared into its raging flames, all she could think of was a singular question.

"What have I done?"


	6. Chapter 5: An Escape

_After stumbling across a strange and mysterious facility in the middle of the woods, the young tigress Felicia and her best friend find themselves swarmed by the army of androids building the place. When Felicia next awakes, she's shocked to see Alpha, one of the two humans that had returned to Earth, standing there waiting for her. It's then that she discovers that the creation of the mysterious facility was their doing. The human demands her silence, guaranteeing her safety in return. Felicia remains hesitant, as her best friend is nowhere to be seen, but is eventually pressured into agreeing._

 _However, this promise is quickly broken, as the very next day, Felicia finds herself charged with the murder of her best friend, Paula. As she's being taken in, a pair of androids attack the car taking her away. She manages to escape and flees to the only fur she can think of; Dr. Kagami, a well-established biologist. Luckily for her, the old lion has just what she needs. Using an old, repurposed device, Felicia transforms into a wild, ravenous beast with the strength to fight back._

 _But as strong as it makes her, she can only handle so many. Eventually, both of them get caught and are dragged back to the mysterious facility, presumably to be taken out just like Felicia's friend had been. Not willing to let a terrible crime like that happen again, Felicia busts out and completely destroys the facility from the inside out. With that, she and Dr. Kagami escape the humans' clutches._

 _Now, the story continues…_

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 5

Felicia's mind remained blank as she watched the clouds roll past the wing of the cargo plane through the window. The plane's vibrations were absorbed by her chin as they traveled through the arm she was leaning against. She'd already taken a photo with her phone some time ago, so now she was simply taking in the sight. Rather than think about the things she'd lost, and the things she was leaving behind, she tried to focus on the clouds, and the various shapes they were forming. Or how they looked like floating islands yet to be inhabited or touched, worlds to be jumped into and escape to.

Her ears swiveled back as they caught the sounds of approaching footsteps. Her gaze remained fixated on the clouds as Dr. Kagami took the seat across from her. "Hey, how are you holding up?" The tigress had to muster up the will to speak before she could respond.

"I'm…alright, I guess. Just kind of confused over how you managed to arrange…" she lifted a paw and motioned to their general surroundings, "all of _this_."

"Mmmm," the old lion nodded and sank back, "Well, long story short, I'm calling in some favors. Long story _not_ as short, I used to use that extra 'function' in the DNAnalyzer to help furs when I was younger."

"You mean the…transforming stuff?"

"The one and only."

Felicia seemed to chew on the thought for a bit as she gnawed at her bottom lip. "…Okay, so…another question… Why are we leaving India?"

This question prompted Dr. Kagami to join her in her cloud-gazing. "It's…not safe there anymore…not while the humans are still there looking for us."

"B…but don't we still need to expose them? W-we could've shown the town that strange facility they were building we came across!"

The lion shook his head. "I doubt it'd be that easy. Odds are the humans have measures for that. And even if we tried, you're still framed for…" His ears flattened against his head. "Well…you're still wanted, so trying to convince everyone to listen to you is next to impossible."

"…They might listen to _you,_ though."

Again, Dr. Kagami shook his head, "By this point, I'm probably considered an accomplice. And even if I _did_ manage to convince them, and even if the humans _didn't_ try to stop us, we'd be taking them to nothing but a destroyed building. And don't forget, _you're_ the one that destroyed it… Honestly, I doubt that bodes well for either of us…"

Felicia groaned inwardly as she sat back in her seat, allowing her head to hang back. "Okay…last question then… With all of that said, and you wanting us to lay low…why then are you taking us to a resort?"

Dr. Kagami brought his attention back to the fellow feline sitting across from him. "Because, even though I care for your safety, I also care about your wellbeing. You haven't caught a _single break_ since this whole ordeal started, so I want you to have a chance to just…catch your breath. At least for a little bit."

Felicia's tail swished this way and that. "…I still don't know about this…"

"We should be safe," the lion tried to assure her, "The humans don't have any method of tracking us, and I doubt the Indian government expects a 17 year old girl and a 63 year old man to be able to leave the country so easily."

"Well…when you put it like _that_ …" Felicia's comment got a chuckle out of Dr. Kagami.

" _Oh!_ And before I forget…" The lion paused as he dug around in his pocket. Once he pulled his fist out, he held it out to her. After Felicia held out her paw, he dropped a necklace of DNA Vials into it. "It took me a bit of tinkering to get this done. After you told me what happened inside that building, I figured it would be best for you to have an easier way to access your Vials. I believe _that_ should remedy that problem."

Felicia stared at the necklace for a bit before carefully taking it in her fingers and slipping it around her neck. When she looked back up, Dr. Kagami offered her a warm smile. "…Thank you," she said to him. The lion merely waved his paw.

"Don't mention it; I just want to make sure you're safe if you ever end up in a situation like that again—"

"For… _everything_ …I mean."

"…Oh," Dr. Kagami cleared his throat, "Of-of course. You're very welcome, Felicia." With that, the tigress returned her gaze to the window, an action that Dr. Kagami followed soon after. Together, they merely watched the clouds go by in a calm, content silence.

* * *

Omega's eyes remained fixed on his video feed as he watched a pack of furs trudge their way through the forest. It was a different group from the one that had come before, as well as the one that had come before _them_. Despite that meaning a generally easier time on Omega's part, he still had yet to relax. They were very close to their destination, so he had to stay alert.

"'Omega, the androids—'"

"'SHHH!'" Omega swiftly silenced the disembodied AI voice. He couldn't afford distractions now. Just a little bit closer…and… There! Just as the lead fur's paw reached through the thick foliage blocking their way, Omega flipped a switch.

"Alright everyone, the explosion apparently took place here. So whatever exploded should be right…" the lead fur trailed off as he stepped through the thick foliage. Much to his shock, strewn all around him was…more foliage. Confused the fur stepped out and looked around. As the others emerged, they all reacted more or less the same. Omega remained tense as all of them walked all over the place. The projections he'd used to hide the rubble of the destroyed facility were clearly working, but it would only take _one_ fur to touch one of the projections to ruin his efforts.

"'NexUs, are the androids in position?'" Omega spoke softly, afraid of speaking over one of the furs and missing what they said.

"'They are,'" the AI confirmed, "'they have the group completely surrounded.'" Omega said nothing else, and odds were that, if one of those furs _did_ end up exposing the projections for what they were, he wouldn't _have_ to.

"M…maybe we're at the wrong place," one of the other furs said, "Come on, let's head back and regroup." Only _after_ the very last fur disappeared from the scene did Omega finally release the breath he'd been holding. He waited for a bit longer before he flipped the switch back in the other direction. As the projections faded, he eyed the power gauge on one of the monitors. It had been running _dangerously_ low just before the group decided to leave.

"'NexUs, where is Alpha right now?'"

"'Still in town, and still trying to put everyone's concerns to rest.'"

"'And how well is she doing with that?'"

The AI didn't answer him for a moment. "'She's doing her best, but there is still unrest among the furs.'"

Omega let out a sigh and switched his surveillance display back to a command display. The human's fingers flew across his keyboard again as he said, "'Let me know if she ends up in any trouble, and continue to keep an eye out for any other onlookers. We've already lost _enough_ time dealing with the tiger girl, and what she did. We _can't_ afford any further interruptions like that.'"

"'Understood,'" was all that NexUs answered with. Afterwards, Omega returned to the cold and stoic silence of his work. He didn't have time to dwell on it. He didn't have time to feel frustrated over the time they had all lost. He didn't even have time to complain about it all. He only had time to work. Their success was riding on _him_. _Everything_ was riding on him.

And he'd sooner die than fail in his mission.

* * *

No matter how hard she fought against it, Felicia couldn't shake the feeling of unease riddling her as she stood completely out in the open. Her instincts to run were _screaming_ at her with every family that walked by. Her ears and tail were twitching uncontrollably, and the fur on the back of her neck was standing on end. The rest of her appendages were stiff and bunched together around her body in an effort to take up as little space as possible. She jolted violently as Dr. Kagami tapped her on the shoulder.

"You really need to calm down," he said gently, "We didn't come all this way just for you to stay on edge."

"I know…I just…" she trailed off as her gaze fell along with her ears and tail.

"Yeah…I know…" the lion slowly nodded with his ears flat against his head. He pat her shoulder one more time before continuing. "Come on, they've got our room set up. Just let yourself relax, alright? Today's gonna be all for you." Felicia offered a silent nod in response, beckoning him to lead the way. It wasn't long before the pair slipped away from the public eye and settled down into their room.

Neither of them felt the need to unpack anything, as they'd both brought so little. Thus, Felicia quickly planted herself at the window granting her an overhead view of the resort. Dr. Kagami, meanwhile, practically threw himself onto the nearby bed and let out a tired sigh. "You really _don't_ appreciate the things you have until you're kept away from them, eh Felicia?"

"Yeah…I guess…"

"Might as well enjoy the luxury while we're here. Who _knows_ when we'll get another chance like this?"

"Mmhmm."

 _Click._

"I'm thinking of trying out the pool. Maybe the hot tub if I feel like pampering myself, and maybe _after_ try some of the cuisine. I dunno, what do you think, kiddo?"

"Sounds good…I guess…"

 _Click. Click._

"Y…yeah. Maybe we can check it out…together…and…" His ears twitched a couple times before he finally raised his head. His eyes widened the second he saw Felicia's phone in her paws. "FELICIA!" he shouted, making her jolt violently, "What are you doing?!"

"I-I'm just taking some pictures," she stammered, her ears flat against her head, "I…w-what's wrong?"

The lion hissed out a breath as he got back up. "You seriously don't know? Felicia, phones are _trackable_! It can lead the humans right to us! Felicia why would you take that with you?!"

"I-I thought it was fine! You never told me that I should leave it behind!"

"That's because I thought you—" He pressed his lips together and paced the room, his tail twitching in an agitated fashion. "You haven't connected to the internet, have you?"

"N-no…"

"Have you taken any calls?"

"No… My family doesn't have coverage this far out, anyways…"

"Good…" Dr. Kagami sighed before snatching the device out of her paws, "We should be safe, but we need to get rid of this—"

"W-wait!" Felicia stammered, "D-do we really _have_ to?"

"Of _course_! Why wouldn't…we…" Dr. Kagami trailed off as he noticed the tears pooling in the tigress' eyes. His gaze then drifted over to the phone, and its displayed photo gallery. It consisted of many, _many_ scenic photos, all ranging from natural wildlife to large and grandiose city-wide shots. But among those were some very choice photos, all of which consisted of two furs. Felicia…and…

The lion let out another sigh, but not one of relief nor disappointment. With Felicia's face now buried in the crook of her arm, Dr. Kagami delicately placed her phone on the table in front of her. "…I'm sorry," he mumbled, his voice low and gentle, "You can hang onto it for now… We're probably alright anyways; the humans can't track us without a signal. Just in case though…don't connect to anything, alright?" Her only audible reply was a sniffle. "Listen, I'm gonna go out and walk around the resort to clear my head. You're welcome to join me if you want." Again, she said nothing. "…Alright…I'm going then. If you get hungry, there's food in my pack. I think I saw a microwave in the other room, so you can heat it up in there if you need to."

With his tail sagging and his heart heavy, the lion pat her shoulder and headed out the door. Once he was gone, a deafening silence filled the room. However, it was a silence that Felicia quickly filled, as she gradually broke down into soft sobs. It was all just so… _frustrating_! Everything that was going on felt so out of her control. The only thing she _could_ do was sit back and let things happen to her. It was all she could do for _Paula_ , and now it was all she could do for _herself_.

Her thoughts trailed off as she took notice of something…off-putting. She perked her ears to listen more intently, holding her breath to silence her sobs. No…that couldn't be right. It simply _couldn't_ be what she was hearing. After an involuntary sniffle, Felicia raised her snout from her arm and looked up. Even through tear-blurred eyes, she could see that yes, it indeed _was_ what she thought she was hearing.

Her phone was ringing.

New thoughts raced through her head. How was this possible? She'd literally just told Dr. Kagami that her phone wasn't covered outside of India. Why was it working _here_? They were in _Thailand_ now! She frantically rubbed the tears away and looked at her phone's screen. It was her parents again. The rising urge to answer them was quickly extinguished as she remembered that it was exactly what the doctor had cautioned against. She made sure to steady her paw as she tapped the decline button.

An unusual sense of relief filled her as silence once again returned to the room, only for that relief to be ripped away from her as new sounds quickly followed. Now she was receiving texts! All of them were coming from her mom, each either demanding that she answer her, or her asking where she was, or begging her to come home. Felicia's heart ached as she once again fought against the urge to answer. It was this internal struggle that kept her from realizing she could just turn her phone off until 20 texts in.

Her trembling paws fumbled with the device, but eventually she did manage to finally silence it. She let it clatter back down onto the table as she stared at its now black screen. She took a moment to try and steady her breathing and calm herself. This was… _really_ bad. The _one_ thing she'd been told not to do had happened _minutes_ after. Anxiety was already welling up from within herself, coming out in the form of nervous tail twitches and tensely curled toes. She needed to tell Dr. Kagami… They needed to _go_.

That particular realization made her heart ache. They'd come here specifically to catch a breather, and _minutes_ within arriving, she'd already screwed it up. She choked down more tears as she got up and went to fetch the doctor's bag, hoping that he hadn't gotten far.

* * *

Alpha remained perfectly still as she allowed the current of the water to carry her along. She silently watched the ocean's surface, staring at the wavering, morphing lights reflected from the sun. Her golden, wire-like hair drifted around her as if ready to overtake her and swallow her up. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through them, watching as the strands gave way and funneled into her hand. But she felt nothing in her fingers. She couldn't feel the sensation of her hair running through them. She couldn't feel the pressure of the current as it pulled her along. She couldn't feel the cold, welcoming embrace of the ocean hug her very being. She could only hear it softly rumble into her "ears," and watch as fish zipped by her and went about their business.

She did, however, feel the back of her heel bump against the soft sand of the ocean's floor. The human allowed herself to drift all the way to the bottom, laying on her back and watching her hair drift along with her. They remained suspended above her, blocking everything from her view but the wavering sun above her. For a good minute or so, this was all her world consisted of; her hair, this ocean, and this view.

But thoughts began to invade this reality, troubling thoughts. Thoughts of what should've been…thoughts of what _could've_ been, and thoughts of what _has_ been. The thoughts that tortured her the most were of Dr. Kagami. There was simply no way around it; she'd completely obliterated any chance of rebuilding her friendship with him. Of course, she'd known that ever since the androids invaded his lab, but that night…when she'd seen the fear in his eyes…that had been the nail in the coffin.

Now she couldn't just…pretend everything was okay. It really was over. Gone were the days where she could allow herself to drop the calm, collected facade of "the revered human" persona. Gone were the days of her meeting with the old lion and exchanging stories of each other's lives. Gone were the days where her only forms of emotional liberation didn't exclusively come from an artificial intelligence…and the ocean itself…

That brought about the other thoughts; thoughts of her significant other. It felt almost alien to think of him as that nowadays, especially with how distant the two of them had grown from each other. They never even called each other by their real names anymore… In fact…these days…they barely even interacted with one another in general. Part of her wondered if he was at fault. More of her wondered if _she_ was at fault.

Her thoughts drifted away from herself as a school of fish situated itself over her, obscuring her view of the sun. She watched absentmindedly as their scales glistened in the sun's rays. As she raised her arms to brush her hair away, a tone rang in her ear. Well, rang in her _head_ was probably more accurate. With a defeated sigh, Alpha willed the call to be answered. "'Yes, NexUs?'" she began.

"'We have a location,'" they answered, "'It's time to go. Please return.'"

A longer sigh escaped Alpha's throat. "'…Alright… I'm coming.'" At that, the call was ended, and by extension, this little escape. It took a bit of effort, but eventually, she tore herself away from the soft, sandy ocean bed and rose, putting herself back into the mercy of the currents. They pulled at her, almost as if trying to keep her from leaving. And as much as she would've loved to give in and stay, even for just a moment longer, she knew she couldn't. She couldn't waste what she'd sacrificed such a precious friendship for. She was committed to this mission, and she was going to complete it.

Regardless of the pain it would cause along the way…

* * *

As Dr. Kagami had walked around the resort, he'd noticed an odd abundance of pools here. With so many around, he couldn't help but wonder if it was out of necessity from the amount of furs that came here, or if it was to make up for the fact that there wasn't much else to do around here. Granted, there _were_ quite a lot of furs here, a good mix of canines and felines as well. But even so, the only variations he'd noticed from amongst the many, _many_ pools were hot tubs. This meant he had to watch his step whenever his eyes drifted out to what lied beyond.

The resort was set right at the beach, and _next_ to the beach was a small forest. With how close it was, it made him wonder why something like a nature walk was never advertised on the brochure. Maybe they'd thought the amount of pools was enough to compensate? Maybe it was something they advertised in person as visitors checked in? Who knew? At the very least, it made for nice scenery.

With the sun shining down on him, and the breeze ruffling up his mane, the lion decided now was a great time to sprawl across one of the pool-side chairs. The tight, elastic bands covering them creaked slightly as he laid across one. Once he found a comfortable position, he allowed his eyes to drift shut. The sun's heat was perfectly balanced with the cool breeze, leading to an almost heavenly experience. The radio was on nearby, playing a soothing and jazzy song. With not much else to listen to, Dr. Kagami listened in on it.

"And that was 'Howlin' Out Your Name,' by The Lupins," said the station's host as the song ended, "We'll be getting back to the hits up next, but first, let's move on to our World News Segment." A short tune signaling this played out before the host continued, "Over in Japan, sales in the black market have been reaching an all-time low thanks to the efforts of the Amnesia Organization. It's thanks to them that the rest of the world doesn't have to worry about their neighbors turning into literal monsters. Well… _most_ of the world, anyways."

Dr. Kagami frowned.

"Over in India, some sort of beastly monster has reportedly been seen causing havoc in a small town. It's currently unknown whether or not this monster is in any way related to the black market dealings done over in Japan. Fingers crossed, folks. I know _I_ wouldn't want something like that knocking on my door." Dr. Kagami shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "And from the looks of things, I'm not alone in that regard. Turning to more local news, it seems that the humans have decided to come right back to us here in Thailand."

This made the lion's eyes snap right back open.

He shot up in his seat and whipped his head to where the radio was. "It's unknown whether or not this has to do with India's current beast problem, but the humans seem to have cut their visit there short, and are now backtracking their way over here. As of right now, they've left their old post and are on their way as I speak. Let's be sure to welcome them back with open arms, ladies and gentlefurs."

That was the absolute _last thing_ he intended to do. All he wanted to do was find Felicia and _leave_. He had no clue how the humans had found them so quickly, but that hardly mattered now. His heart hammered in his ears with each step. There was no telling how much time they had to get away, but it couldn't have been much. As long as she was still in their room, he'd find her _long_ before the humans would.

Unfortunately, she _wasn't_ in their room. She was roaming the resort, walking with the same urgency _he_ was. She'd very quickly regretting not taking some kind of map with her. She was lost, and she felt like she was just aimlessly wandering around. Her eyes scanned the many furs walking around, searching for anything that resembled the lion's poofy mane. Her heart sank a little each time she failed to find him in a passing group. As easy as it would be to just shout out his name, she didn't want to bring any more attention to herself than she needed to.

Dr. Kagami grew more anxious each time he had to stop and let someone pass. Each second that went by was one less they could use to run and hide. He did his best to weave his way through the multitude of furs going about their day. The clock was ticking. Time was running short.

Felicia's claws began to dig into her palms. Still so many furs, and _none_ of them were him. She debated whether or not it'd be better to stop and wait or to keep moving. The inner debate made her pace back and forth in the same spot. There was no time to waste. She had to decide _now_.

Dr. Kagami picked up the pace, bordering on running. It wasn't much further now. He just needed to round the corner and he'd basically be there. After weaving his way through several more groups, he reached that corner, rounded it, and stopped in his tracks as his heart leapt to his throat.

Felicia rushed off from her spot, making sure to scan the face of every fur she passed by. As frustrating as it was to have so many in front of her, one of them would _have_ to be him eventually. With how many that were heading in the opposite direction from her, she figured they were all coming from a big gathering. Trusting that instinct, she rounded the corner they were coming from and stopped dead in her tracks.

Dr. Kagami nearly ran once he saw Felicia at the other end of the path. It took everything he had to not call out her name. Her being out of the room confused him, but her presence out here was convenient none-the-less. But the closer he got, the more he noticed how paralyzed she appeared. Her tail was twitching madly, her ears were flat, and her gaze would NOT move. It was when he followed her gaze that he finally understood.

The crowd before her was parting to make way for the squad of androids headed in her direction.

"FELICIA!" Quickly following Dr. Kagami's exclamation was a series of gunshots that made the crowd scramble like wind-swept ants. The lion got caught up in the chaos and was swept backwards by the crowd of panicked furs. He continued to shout as he fought against the flow with his eyes glued on Felicia, who appeared to be frozen in place.

Thankfully, his efforts snapped her out of her shocked state. With a pack of androids already closing in on her, Felicia tore a vial off of her necklace and shoved it into the DNAnalyzer.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

As she dove beneath the android flying at her, she smacked her thumb against the device's button.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

And just like that, Felicia's beastly form was back on the prowl. Her first victim was the android right in front of her, which she made quick work of with a single swing. As that one fell, five others came to replace it. Felicia leapt out of the way before they could all pile on her at once. They were made easy pickings for her once they all crashed into each other. One by one, more of them were reduced to scrap metal, as none could endure her sheer strength. As the last one fell, Felicia caught the sound of one coming from behind. With a harsh snarl, she reeled back her arm and whirled around to swing at it with all of her might.

Only for her arm to be caught mid-swing.

Felicia's heart dropped as this android stared her down. Its disproportionately huge hand kept her arm in a vice-grip. The next thing she knew, a crescendo of gunshots fired off, and sparks exploded off of her body. She didn't even register the cry of pain she let out as she was thrown backwards. Once she hit the ground, her hands immediately went to her stomach. To her surprise and _much_ to her relief, there were no bullet wounds to be found.

Her gaze immediately shot back up to the android once she started clawing back up to her feet. She hadn't noticed it before, but this one was different from the others. Aside from its one giant hand, it wore some kind of headset, heavy gauntlets and boots. In its other, normal-sized hand, it brandished the gun it had shot her with, and tampographed onto the metallic mantle on its shoulder was the mu symbol.

The Mu Android thrust its gun forward and let loose a hellstorm of fully automatic fire. Felicia broke into a mad dash, making the bullets fly past her and shred everything behind her to pieces. She was losing more and more space with each small pool she bounded over, and thus running out of space to run. Left with no cover to dive behind and no other options to take, Felicia threw her gauntleted arm over her face and hurtled right for the android head on. She clenched her jaw as she absorbed the onslaught of bullets assaulting her front.

Just before she could reach it, Mu turned to the side and threw its mantle in front of itself. The mantle's segments suddenly split apart and fanned out, separated by sparking, bright orange energy. Felicia slammed against this new "shield" and swiped at it with all of her might. But despite all of the momentum she'd built up, and all of the strength she had behind her swing, neither it nor its shield would budge. Shocked, she reeled back and struck again, once again to no avail.

Just as she lunged in for another attack, Mu thrust its shield forward and bashed it against her head. The blow stunned her long enough for the android to collapse the shield and clamp its big hand around her face. More stars filled her vision as the back of her head smashed against the ground. Felicia frantically clawed at Mu's arm and hand, but the armor around Mu's arm was just too tough to tear through. Her claws went for its head next, but they couldn't reach. The next thing she felt was cold metal against her side, and unrelenting pain as bullets unloaded against it.

With Mu so focused on Felicia, it failed to notice the beach chair flying right at it. Once the chair crashed against its back and crumpled to the ground, Mu ended its bullet barrage on her to find out what exactly had thrown that. Its gaze eventually fell upon Dr. Kagami, who was staring right back at it with defiance in his eyes. "You get AWAY from her!" he snarled. In the time it took for Mu to process what to do next, Felicia shot her legs up and kicked against its chin.

The blow knocked it back hard enough to make it finally release its death-grip on her face. She scrambled onto all fours and tried to shoot back up to her feet, only to go right back down as an intense pain riddled her side. As Mu got back up, it held its gun behind its mantle for a few seconds before drawing it back out to aim it at Felicia yet again. The tigress threw herself to the side just as it fired off a single round.

A tremendously loud bang struck her ears as the part of the ground she'd just been on was utterly demolished. Her heart raced as the urge to find cover overrode all other thoughts that had been going through her head. With her ears ringing from the explosion and pain still riddling her side, Felicia ran as hard as her limbs could manage. But she screeched to a halt as Mu's next shot obliterated part of the path ahead. Her heart hammered as she hastily scrambled away in another direction.

This happened again and again, with each shot getting frighteningly closer to hitting its mark. And each time, Felicia had to fight against her own momentum to change directions. With each change taking longer to accomplish, her fear of Mu finally landing its shot grew exponentially. With Mu's next shot demolishing a set of benches, Felicia scrambled again to run the other direction. However, with the ground beneath her now littered with debris, her foot slipped as she tried to propel herself forward.

She hit the ground with a hearty thud as her other limbs followed suit, leaving her completely vulnerable as she frantically tried to get back up. And with her just sitting there, all Mu needed to do now was aim down its sights, pull the trigger and—

"FELICIA!"

Just before Mu could squeeze the trigger all the way, Dr. Kagami ran out from his own cover and threw himself at Felicia. His impact knocked her aside, but him into the line of fire. A deafening bang rang out as the concrete right in front of him was blown to pieces. With such a close call, Dr. Kagami's heart was racing a mile a minute. He ignored the loud ringing in his ears as he hurried over to Felicia and urgently pushed her up. "F-Felicia we gotta go!"

She hissed through her teeth as she was forced to her feet. "Doctor…I'm sorry—"

"Save it! We—" the lion whipped his gaze back over to Mu. Much to his surprise, the android had stowed its gun away and was now stomping its way over. "Felicia come on, we have to go!"

"I-I can take him, I just need—"

"NO. We need to retreat and think of something later!"

With a pained hiss, Felicia forced herself back to all fours and started towards the nearby woods, making sure to allow Dr. Kagami to hop onto her back. Mu carefully watched them as they rushed off, remaining cold, empty, silent, and purely analytic. Its target had gotten away, yes.

But only for now.


	7. Chapter 6: Pursuit and Prey

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 6

"I'm so sorry, doctor…"

"Felicia—"

"You wanted to do something nice for me and I just…I just screwed it all up!"

" _Felicia_ —"

"All I had to do was do nothing, and I couldn't even do THAT!"

"FELICIA!" That was finally enough to get the tigress to stop. After leaving her a good minute or so to calm down, Dr. Kagami said, "Ok so…take it back a bit. What happened? Why are you apologizing so much?"

When she answered, Felicia's ears were flat, and her gaze remained glued to her knees. "I…I know why the humans found us…"

The lion blinked. "…What? What do you mean?"

There was pain in Felicia's eyes as she reached into her pocket and dug out her phone. "They…they followed this…"

Dr. Kagami stared at the device for a bit. "They did? But…but I thought you said that you don't have coverage over here! Felicia did you connect to the internet or something?! I told you not to—" He stopped himself the second Felicia buried her face in the crook of her arm. He winced and cursed to himself silently. "Felicia…c…come on…none of that now. I'm not mad at you, I…I'm just trying to understand what happened is all."

"I know…" Felicia replied with a shuddering breath, "…I'm sorry, it's just…really… _really_ hard on me… You tried so hard to make this happen for us…to give us a chance to relax and I…" A frustrated growl escaped her throat. "I just messed it all up."

"You're still not telling me _how_ ," Dr. Kagami scooted a bit closer, brushing aside some of the leaves scattered around them, "Felicia, what _happened_?"

She had to give herself a bit of time before she answered. "I…I honestly don't really know. But for some reason, after you left, my phone just started ringing. It was my mom, and I-I _wanted_ to answer, but I knew I _shouldn't_. So I hung up. But-but right after, I started getting a whole bunch of texts from her and…and I didn't know what to do, so I just turned it off and went to find you."

"So…you were _called_?" Felicia answered with only a nod. "And you said you don't have coverage out here?" Again, a nod. This made the lion furrow a brow. "But that doesn't make any sense. Unless…do you think your parents would enable it to try and reach you?"

This time, Felicia shook her head. "I don't… _think_ so… My parents were always protective of me because they never really thought I could do much on my own, so I doubt they think I'd be able to leave India like this…"

"And you're _sure_ about this?" The lack of any hesitation in Felicia's nod created a very mixed bag of emotions within Dr. Kagami. The way he saw it, there were now only two explanations to this call. The first was that the Indian government had taken her escape as a possibility and enabled their coverage. The second was one that the lion didn't want to accept as true, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was the most likely possibility.

It was the possibility of the humans having enabled it themselves.

He shelved the thought for now; there was still a more immediate question on his mind. "Felicia, you said that you got the call right after I left, right?"

"Maybe a little bit after, but yeah… Why?"

"Did you get any other calls before then? Like when we were on the plane?"

"No, I was just taking pictures the whole time…"

"And before we got on?"

"Still none." Dr. Kagami furrowed his brow again. "W…what's wrong?"

"It's just…something else is bothering me…" He softly stroked his chin as he thought aloud, "No one really knew we left the country…you only got that call after we got to Thailand...and I know the humans didn't leave India until after then because I overheard it on a radio broadcast… So…how did the androids reach us so quickly?"

Felicia's eyes widened a bit; she hadn't really thought about that. "M…maybe their ship just…flies really fast?"

"But from India to here? In such a short amount of time? Not likely. And even if that were the case, to get their androids to us so quickly, they would have had to fly nearby. Neither of us saw the ship nearby, and no one's reported on seeing it recently."

Felicia's ears flattened. "So…if they didn't bring the androids to us…doesn't that mean that the androids were already here to begin with?" Despite the fact that this had already been on Dr. Kagami's mind, hearing it out loud still sent an uneasy chill down his spine. Not just from that thought alone, but also from the thought that followed.

The thought of there being another reason for the humans' desire to travel around the world.

* * *

"'How much longer till we arrive, NexUs?'"

"'About an hour or so, Omega.'"

"'And we're still in range?'"

"'Yes sir.'"

"'Good,'" the human nodded in satisfaction before stepping away from Alpha's side and returning to his work station. Alpha continued to watch the clouds part and flow around the ship's nose. She tried to focus on those details alone, rather than think about what would happen once they finally flew _below_ those clouds. "'…NexUs what are you doing? We don't need the overhead display anymore. Turn it off.'"

"'Yes sir.'" Just like that, the display vanished from sight. Alpha's gaze slowly lowered to the floor. For a good minute or so, the only sounds filling the room were those of the ship's low hums, and the constant string of beeps that came from Omega's typing.

"'…Alpha?'" he eventually said, "'Are you alright? You'd normally return to your chambers by now.'"

Alpha raised her gaze to find Omega's back still turned to her. Slowly, her gaze returned to the floor. "'…Yes. I'm fine.'"

"'…Are you sure?'"

"'Yes, dear. I'm alright.'"

"'…Good.'" Nothing was said for another minute, but Alpha was caught by surprise when Omega spoke up again. "'You know…after all of this is said and done, we'll finally be able to have the life we dreamed of.'"

Alpha raised her head. "'Our…dream?'"

"'You remember, don't you? Our dream of living a normal life? Of living in a world that's not wasting away? Of raising a family?'"

It took a moment for Alpha to regain her composure. "'Y-yes, of course. I remember.'"

Omega continued to type as he went on. "'Well, it shouldn't be long before our dream becomes a reality. We just need to finish building the last few stations and take care of this little setback.'"

"'Setback…right…'" Alpha's hand slowly curled up into a fist.

"'Have you thought of a name yet?'"

"'I'm…sorry?'"

"'For our first child…'" Omega briefly raised a hand to slide one of his displays over, "'Once we have ours.'"

"'Oh…umm…'" Again, Alpha had to take a moment to recompose herself, "'I…haven't quite thought of one, no.'" Another moment went by with Omega just typing.

"'If it were a boy, I think I'd like…Agusto. How does that sound, dear?'"

Alpha looked to him, his back still turned to her. "'…It sounds wonderful.'"

"'And if it were a girl…'" Omega paused for a moment, "'maybe…Tabitha. Yes…yes I quite like that. What do you think?'"

"'It's…lovely, dear.'"

Omega stopped typing.

"'Alpha,'" he said, terse and to the point, "'are you having second thoughts about this again?'"

"'No, dear.'"

"'Alpha—'"

"'I'm _not_.'" Omega turned away from his work station to look her directly in the eyes. Before he could say anything, Alpha went on, "'I'm more determined to do this now than I've ever been before.'"

"'I'm finding that quite hard to believe.'"

"'You're doubting me then?'" Omega gave a single nod in response. Alpha chuffed. "'Fine. If you want proof, then I'll _give_ you proof. NexUs!'"

"'Yes, Alpha?'" came the disembodied voice, "'What do you need?'"

"'Connect to the networks around the globe,'" she commanded, keeping her gaze locked onto Omega's, "'Reveal to the world who Felicia is. Tell them that _she_ is the dangerous, ravenous beast, and that _she_ is on the run.'"

"'Right away, Alpha.'" The AI went silent as they went to work. It was a _tense_ silence, as the two humans stared each other down. Eventually, Omega nodded in satisfaction and turned back around to return to his work.

"'I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm glad to see that you've finally cast your inhibitions aside. I promise you that things will get easier for you from here on out.'"

Again, Alpha's gaze fell back down. It was at this time that she felt grateful over the lack of tear ducts in her cybernetic body. "'…I certainly hope so…Omega…'"

* * *

"But…I don't understand, Doctor… I thought we were going to prove my innocence?"

"Well…yes, we _were_ …" Dr. Kagami lowered his ears, "but…that was _before_ we realized how much leverage the humans had over us."

"But—"

"No, Felicia," the lion held a finger against her lip, "we're out of our league here. If the humans have been traveling the world to plant their stations this entire time, then they've got androids in every corner of the globe. We can't fight that, Felicia. Not something at that scale."

"…I…I thought you wanted to help me…"

"I _do_ ," Dr. Kagami laid his paw on her shoulder, "and I'm doing so by keeping you safe. That has been and always _will_ be my number one priority." The sight of Felicia keeping her gaze away from his dug into his heart like a knife. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring you back home, Felicia…but it's for your own good. I promise I'll find you someplace safe to stay."

"…no…"

The lion grunted, taken aback by such a response. "…Er…I still have different connections. It _won't_ turn out like today. Promise. We'll be completely off the grid and the humans will never be able to—"

"No."

Dr. Kagami blinked. "…Excuse me?"

For a moment longer, Felicia refused to make eye contact with him. Her breathing was shallow, her ears were flat against her head, and her tail was thrashing around with tense energy. When she finally worked up the energy to look him in the eyes, he saw a fire in them that he'd never seen her have before. "…I…said…no." For the first time in their history together, it was _him_ that was left speechless by her. It took Felicia another moment to work herself up enough to continue. "…I…I don't want to keep running. I-I _don't_ want to just… _hide_ from them. I-I don't want to let the humans take my life away from me. Th-they've already taken Paula! I don't want them to take anymore!" Every statement made her rise up little by little. Eventually, she found herself standing over Dr. Kagami, with her fists and voice trembling. "You…y-you can go ahead and go, b-but…I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna…I'm gonna…"

Once Dr. Kagami found his voice again, he jumped to his feet and said, "Felicia, _please_ be reasonable. This whole thing, this _worldwide_ crisis…there are people more qualified to handle things like this. Armies, world governments, th-that group in Japan! I can see how much you want this, but for god's sake you can't even think of a plan!"

"I know!" Felicia winced, almost as if in pain, "B-but I don't want to leave it to them. The humans, they hurt me… _Personally_. I can't…I-I don't…" With a harsh snarl, Felicia turned around and dug her claws into a nearby trunk. She shuddered as her frustrations began to broil from within herself. "It HAS to be me! It…has to…" Her grip on the trunk loosened, allowing bits of bark to crumble onto the ground. The sounds they made were the only ones that reached Felicia's ears for a while.

"…Okay."

Felicia perked her ears, turning around slowly. "…w…what?"

" _Okay_ ," the lion repeated, "If you really intend on doing this, then the least I can do is make sure you stay safe _doing it_."

"…Doctor…" As if to return to the old days, Felicia found herself at a loss for words again. Dr. Kagami simply offered a gentle smile.

"Alright then, if you're fully committing to this, then we need to figure out what to do next. Any ideas?"

"…Uh…" Felicia's ears flattened, "Th…the android…the newer one, It's trying to hunt me down."

"Right, the upgraded android," Dr. Kagami nodded, "It seemed tailor-made to fight you."

"Y-yeah! We need to…do…something about it before it gets the jump on me."

"Yes…but how is the issue…" The lion stroked his chin. "There's an attack function on the DNAnalyzer I can re-enable now that I've got the chance to do it… It might be able to help. And…well…"

Felicia tilted her head. "…What?"

"It's just…something I've thought of…" Dr. Kagami then reached into his pack and picked out a DNA Vial, "Up until this point, you've only been using the tiger DNA Vials… So far, the sheer strength it grants you has been enough. But...not for this android…"

Felicia looked at the Vial in his paw, "…so…you think it's time to switch?" Reluctantly, the lion answered her with a nod. "Okay…well…what's the big deal, then? If we need to switch, then we should just switch."

Dr. Kagami rolled the Vial between his fingers. "Yeah… You're right." He clenched it in his fist before leaning over and dropping it into Felicia's waiting paw. "Here; this is a wolf Vial. Back then, these guys could take down prey ten times bigger than them. Let's hope that'll be enough to deal with that thing." As Felicia went to clip the new Vial onto her necklace, Dr. Kagami laid his paw on hers. "Just…just use it as a last resort, alright?"

Felicia blinked in confusion. "What? Why?"

"It's just…" his eyes drifted down to the DNAnalyzer, "I'm afraid of any side-effects it might cause… But if you really have no other option, then use it. Better to deal with the consequences later than worry about what they could've been _after_." After a slow and thoughtful nod, Felicia clipped the Vial on. "Okay, so we've got at least somewhat of a plan to fight with. I guess now all that's left is to wait for that thing to come and find us."

"…Actually…" Felicia's fingers clenched around the device in her pocket, "…I…think I have a better idea…"

* * *

"Sources remain unknown at this time, but the timing of both incidents very much point to this being the truth. The disappearance of the seventeen-year-old Felicia Baagh occurred at about the same time the unexplained beast began to appear in Madhya Pradesh. Reports say that this beast is currently somewhere in Thailand. Though the identity has yet to be validated, authorities around the world have still been advised to be on the lookout for this tigress fur. She is dangerous and possibly armed. Again, her name isFelicia Baagh. She is a seventeen-year-old—"

"Mama?"

The older tigress shook her head and tore her attention away from the TV and over to her son, "Y-yes, dear?"

"Is didi coming home soon?"

She took in a very deep breath and bounced her cub on her knee. "I don't think so."

The cub looked back at the TV. "…Is she in trouble?"

Again, another deep breath. She reached out to scoot her son close enough to hug him. "…Yes, my beta…she is…" She gently combed her claws through his fur as she sat there and watched the TV with him. She perked an ear once she heard her phone vibrate nearby. Unhooking an arm from her son, she leaned over and fetched the device from the other side of the couch.

She had every intention to decline the call before the phone was even in her paws; she'd gotten her fair share of calls about her daughter already, and in light of the recent news, she was _not_ in the mood for another. Thus, her thumb was already hanging over the decline button as she brought the device into her view. But seconds before she pressed it, her mind registered the name presented in the caller ID. Her heart jumped to her throat and she immediately hit the answer button. "FELICIA?! My beti, is that you?!"

Though not right away, an answer came. "…Yeah, it's me, mom."

"Oh my…" With her eyes wide and her paws trembling, she staggered up to her feet and gently urged her son forward, "Hurry, hurry, go get your papa. BEBO! FELICIA CALLED!" As her son scurried off, the older tigress firmly pressed the phone against her ear, "Felicia why haven't you answered?! We've been so worried!"

"I'm…I'm sorry, mom…"

"And-and now you're on the news, and they're saying you're…that you're some kind of _beast_?!"

"I…I'm sorry…"

"Felicia you come home _right now_. Where are you right now?"

"Mom I…can't tell you."

"Of COURSE you can tell me! You _need_ to tell me so that we can pick you up and we can clear this all up!"

"…mom—"

"Listen, I know you're not looking forward to next year, but that doesn't mean that you should be running off on your own like this and cause trouble!"

" _mom_ —"

"You're just a little girl, Felicia. _MY_ little girl! You might get hurt out there! Just come home already. We won't be mad, but you need to—"

"MOM!" The sheer force behind Felicia's voice was enough to shock her into silence. "…Mom, please just listen. I don't have much time…"

It took a moment for her to recover. "…O…kay…"

It took _another_ moment for Felicia to continue. "I just want you to know…that I can't come home yet. It's not safe. But Dr. Kagami's helping me _stay_ safe. I don't…know when we'll be back…but…until then…I…I need _you guys_ to stay safe. The humans…don't trust them. Just _stay away_ from them for as long as you can. And most importantly… _don't get involved_. Just don't bring attention to yourselves. M-maybe stay with one of our relatives if you can. I don't know… Just…stay safe."

At this point, the older feline's throat was beginning to close up. "…Felicia…"

"If he's worried…t…tell my little bhai that his didi is okay… Him and papa…please?"

She clenched her eyes shut and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Of course, my beti."

"Thank you… Mom…I…" Felicia stopped for a moment as she began to choke up, "I know I don't say this enough…but I love you. And papa… And my little brother… I love you all…"

"My beti…" now she was beginning to choke up as _well_ , "We all love _you_."

At this point, Felicia was having a hard time keeping the phone steady in her paws, only made more difficult by the fact that her armor gave little in the way of proper grip on the smooth device. And with her throat completely closing up on her, she became completely unable to hang up on her own. Thus, Dr. Kagami leaned in and hung up for her. With the call now over, Felicia hugged the device close to her chest as she rode out the last of her sobs. All the while, Dr. Kagami offered a comforting paw on her non-armored shoulder. "You did good, kid," he whispered. Felicia only nodded in response.

Once she evened out her breathing, she carefully stood back up. "…Okay," she began, "that android's probably gonna get here soon. You should find a good place to hide."

"Right," the lion nodded as he stepped back, "Be careful, alright? If things get too hectic, just run. Don't worry about me; I'll catch up to you eventually."

Felicia nodded firmly as he began to walk away. As she lowered her arms, she realized she was still holding onto her phone. She held it out as she followed him and called, "D-Dr. Kagami, can you hold onto this for—"

The sentence was left unfinished as a crescendo of loud bangs rang in her ears. A second later, sharp and stinging pains assaulted her entire left side. Once they stopped, she drew her arm in close and hissed through her teeth. She whipped her gaze to the side to see Mu sliding its gun beneath its mantle. Fear suddenly struck her as she suddenly realized her phone wasn't in her grasp. But once she found where it was, her heart fell. It was on the ground in front of her, completely ruined and riddled with bullet holes.

"FELICIA!"

Dr. Kagami's shout snapped her out of it in time for her to notice Mu drawing its gun back out of its mantle. She felt her entire body begin to heat up as her sorrow was replaced by a rapidly-building anger. Right as Mu thrust its gun forward and pulled the trigger, Felicia ducked beneath the shot and let out the harsh growl rumbling from within her chest, drowned out only by the trees behind her getting blown to bits. Her claws dug deep into the ground before she bellowed out and took off running.

Before Mu could let off another shot, Felicia hurled the wad of dirt she'd dug up with her claw straight at it. The wad splattered across its face, completely obscuring its vision as Felicia bounded towards it. She pounced into the air as Mu wiped enough of it off to see. Seconds before her impact, the android threw its mantle in front of itself and expanded it into a shield. Felicia crashed against it with enough force to stagger it back a step before she went right back on the offensive.

But no matter how far she tried to reach around it, the shield was just too large for her to reach past. Mu eventually grew tired of her antics and hurled her off, collapsing its shield and taking aim right after. Felicia catapulted herself into the air in the one second she had to react. The spot she'd been standing on was blown to bits right after, sending dirt and mud flying everywhere. She was back on the run the second her foot hit the ground again, circling around her adversary as fast as she could.

Mu expanded its shield again as it pivoted along with her circling, almost as though its front was tethered to Felicia herself. No matter how hard she ran, and no matter how suddenly she changed direction, the shield remained as a constant barrier between her and the android itself. Mu's next shot obliterated the tree just in front of her and staggered her with the dust and wooden shards that were blown into her as a result. Felicia's instincts kept her from slamming face first into the ground and instead got her to roll onto her knees and kick off of the ground full speed.

Rather than continue her useless circling, she used that speed to barrel towards Mu. If she couldn't go _around_ the shield, then maybe she could go _through_ it. With a hammering heart and an echoing roar, she threw herself into the air and turned herself into a living cannonball. Mu's shield absorbed the full force of Felicia's charge as she crashed against it. And though it was enough to force it back several feet, digging up the ground beneath it along the way, nothing else noteworthy was accomplished. None of Mu's joints snapped under the pressure and not a single panel on its shield even so much as cracked. Once the last of Felicia's momentum petered out, Mu shoved its shield forward and threw Felicia into one of the nearby trees.

She cried out when her shoulder caught against it, sending her spiraling downwards until the ground came up to meet her. Lights danced in her head as her head banged against it first, followed by the rest of her body. With her head now throbbing, she grit her teeth and forced herself back upright. Her instincts took over the second Mu's next gunshot fired off, launching her to the side just before the ground beneath her exploded into pieces. The force of the explosion flung her off to the side like a discarded ragdoll.

"Th-that's ENOUGH, FELICIA!" came Dr. Kagami's voice once her world stopped spinning, "You've done what you could! It's time to go!"

"N-NO! Not yet!" Felicia's heart skipped a beat as another gunshot cracked through the air. Her legs and arms scrambled into action just before another explosion tore through the ground. Dirt and rock rained down onto her back as she ran her furious circle again with a frustrated snarl. This thing was going to follow them to the depths of the Earth; and the longer it was around, the longer it would take for her to reobtain the safety and freedom she was fighting for.

Dr. Kagami had told her of her last option, and she wasn't going to give in until she'd at least tried it. With a forceful shove, she went from all fours to just her feet and tore a Vial off of her necklace. She yelped as one of Mu's shots tore completely through one of the trees and sent it careening down towards her. Her instincts took over once again. In the same motion, Felicia dove out of the way and yanked out the Vial in her belt. And as her feet touched the ground again, she tossed the old Vial away and shoved the new one inside.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

She let out an involuntary growl as she stumbled over a stray root. She fought with everything she had to keep her balance. She nearly lost it again as one of Mu's shots devastated the ground in front of her. She grit her teeth and shielded her face with her arms as she ran through the dust cloud. Just a little more! She just had to wait for the belt to say one thing…

 **WOLF!**

With another shot annihilating another tree, Felicia ducked down and smacked the right button.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Felicia's entire body began to tingle as the black "scales" of her armor began to spread over the rest of her. She grit her teeth even harder as a burning sensation washed over her. She felt every muscle contraction with every little movement she made. They felt like they were shifting, warping, expanding and slimming all at once. She felt lighter, faster, more agile... But most importantly, she felt ready to keep on fighting. Through the dust cloud, a different Felicia emerged. Her striped, orange suit had changed to a dull grey. Her long and slender tail had shortened, the crest on her head had morphed into a larger and more ear-like shape, and a short, stubby muzzle now extended from the front of her helmet. The tiger she was no more.

The wolf was now on the prowl.

This mattered little to the cold and calculative android. An objective was still an objective, and a target was still a target. Its gaze remained unwavering as it followed Felicia to the millimeter. Algorithms ran through its head as it tried to adjust to her new speed. Once it pried its gun back out of its mantle, it took aim and—

Just before it could fire, something clamped onto its arm and yanked it downwards. Mu pulled the trigger before it could stop itself and fired off a round that blew a crater into the ground right at its feet. The resulting dust cloud blinded and disoriented the android long enough for whatever had grabbed it to let go and slip away. Mu wasted no time in deploying its shield as it reoriented itself. It was _just_ at the right time too, as right after the shield was up, Felicia slammed against it at full speed. Its feet dug deeper into the ground as it absorbed the full force of her charge, but remained firmly in place.

Despite this new form, Felicia was still just as incapable of reaching her as she'd been before. She snarled and slashed with all of her might, but she could accomplish little more than leaving behind scratch marks. Mu waited for the right time before bashing its shield against her, throwing its gun forward and—

The android suddenly felt something slam against its shield. The brief stagger this created allowed Felicia to lunge forward and clamp her jaws around the hand holding the gun. Forced to act before its hand was crushed to bits, Mu yanked her upwards and drove its foot into her gut. She let out a yelp and tumbled across the ground in a sprawling mess. Before the android could take aim again, it caught sight of something flying at it from its peripheral. It immediately threw its shield forward and blocked…Felicia.

The shield served its purpose in fending her off, but this meant that Mu was wide open for Felicia as she got back up. Mu took aim again at the now recovered Felicia…as Felicia continued to claw away at the shield. Mu let loose another shot, but Felicia easily dove beneath it and ran in for the kill. Mu bashed its shield against Felicia and…and threw it in front of Felicia before she could reach it. Mu's side was suddenly assaulted with teeth and claws as Felicia found this new opening to strike.

With its processing unit hitting its limit, the android mustered as much strength as it could to swing its shield out, batting Felicia and Felicia aside. Now granted proper space, Mu held its shield forward and assessed the situation. The two Felicias, Felicia 01 and 02, both crouched low to the ground with harsh snarls leaving their throats. Both split off from each other and began to run circles around it. Both remained on opposite sides from each other, forcing Mu to aim its shield and gun at either one or the other.

One of them suddenly pounced, and Mu threw its shield around to defend. And as that one clawed away at it, the other one rushed in from the rear. Algorithms raced through its head before threw its gun forward and pulled the trigger. But Felicia 02 smacked the offending arm aside before the gun had the chance to fire off. Her claws quickly found their way into its torso as she closed in, tearing through its metal carapace. Mu hastily jammed its gauntleted forearm into her mouth to keep her at bay, struggling to maintain its footing against both Felicias.

And with it so preoccupied, it failed to notice the third Felicia hidden amongst the trees and watching from afar. The android's back was to her, and it was far too busy dealing with her copies to even think about turning around. Now was the time to strike; now was the time to try out the new function Dr. Kagami had enabled. She flexed her claws and tensed her legs before shooting forward like a bullet. Then, with a mighty bound, she leapt into the air and smacked the _left_ button on her belt.

 **D-N-ANNIHILATION!**

She curled up into a ball as a surge of energy pulsed through her entire body and down to her legs. Hearing her rapid approach, Mu used all of its strength to hurl the other Felicias off of itself and whirl around to face her. But by then, it was already too late. With a savage growl, Felicia threw her arms out and kicked both feet forward, PLOWING them directly into the android's face. The claws at her feet tore through its tough exterior and carved down the rest of its body. She landed in a crouch before driving her arms forward and throwing the android into the air with a powerful palm-thrust. Electricity violently sparked from its body before an explosion ripped through it and blew it to pieces. As the dust was still settling, all three Felicias threw their heads back and howled into the sky.

Dr. Kagami let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the tree he'd been hiding behind before pushing himself back up and approaching the trio. "That was incredible!" he exclaimed, faltering midsentence as he tried to figure out which Felicia to focus his attention on. "I have no idea how you managed to do… _this_ ," he waved his paws in their general direction, "but I'm certainly not gonna complain. Now we should get out of here before—"

"W-wait," one of the Felicias spoke up, the other two stepping aside as she approached the lion, "You said that this forest wasn't all that big…right?"

Again, Dr. Kagami's voice faltered in the presence of three of the same person, "Y…yeah… We could probably walk to the end of it and back given enough time… Why?"

Felicia turned away, her tail wagging and anxiously shifting her weight between her feet. "I'll… _we'll_ be right back." Before the old lion could say anything else, Felicia and her "pack" took off running deeper into the forest.

* * *

"'We've lost signal from Mu,'" NexUs informed Omega, who was going from console to console.

"'That's…that's fine. After you contact Alpha about this, send out more androids to find the tiger girl and—'"

"'OMEGA! WE HAVE VISUAL ON THE GIRL!'"

"'What?! Where?!'"

"'AT THE THAILAND STATION!'" All of Omega's displays were then replaced by dozens of video feeds, each following Felicia as she tore through every single android that dared to oppose her. With so many different things happening, it was as though she was in several places at once. And that indeed _was_ the case. The three Felicias were all over the place devouring androids like a hungry pack of animals. But within no time, the three broke their way into the station and began tearing apart everything in their path. Cameras went dark left and right, and red gauges filled up a huge portion of Omega's displays.

And after Felicia tore apart one last cord between her jaws, and a familiar alarm began to wail, she and the rest of her "pack" scrambled out of the station and made a break for it. By the time they'd made it out of there, and by the time all of Omega's gauges were at critical levels, the station was ripped apart by yet another air-cracking explosion.

Omega's fist nearly smashed through the console as he slammed it down in a fit of rage. "'ANOTHER ONE?! JUST LIKE THAT?!'"

"'I-I'm so sorry, sir. I will be sure to—'"

"'SHUT UP!'" This time the console creaked as it gave in to the force of both fists slamming down, "'INFORM Alpha of this and have her return as soon as she can! As soon as we restore signal strength to the Thailand station, we're heading straight to the Indonesia station! That's the SECOND station she's destroyed already! We are NOT letting her destroy another!'"

"'Understood.'" NexUs said nothing else, leaving the infuriated human to brood. And as much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't waste any time. After recollecting himself, he immediately brought up the video feed of the battle that had just taken place. He was going to study every aspect of this new form. Every move, every skill, and every habit. He would study them all, all night if he had to. Whatever it would take to design the perfect countermeasure to this new, problematic roadblock that had suddenly come into their lives…

Felicia.


	8. Chapter 7: On the Hunt

_After stumbling across a strange and mysterious facility in the middle of the woods, the life of the 17 year old Felicia begins to spiral out of control. She's framed for the murder of her best friend, is forced to flee from her home, marked as a fugitive, and is pursued by the humans' relentless androids. It's thanks to the help of the scientist Dr. Kagami that she is able to escape. He not only aids her in escaping India unharmed, but also grants her the ability to transform into a strong, yet ravenous beast via the use of an old and repurposed device._

 _Most recently, a newer and stronger android has come after her, this one far stronger than the rest. Its tactics and equipment were designed specifically with her in mind, countering not only her more bestial fighting style, but also her sheer strength. Thus, Felicia is forced to utilize a new form through the use of wolf DNA. With the swiftness and new abilities it grants her, she's finally able to overcome this new android model along with the station it was defending._

 _Now, the story continues…_

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 7

"How many more tests am I gonna have to take, Doctor?"

"Not many more, don't worry," the old lion said as he unraveled a stethoscope. Once it was on, he pressed its diaphragm against her back and asked, "Breathe deeply, please." Felicia breathed through her nose. With a nod, Dr. Kagami moved the diaphragm lower, giving her a slight chill as the cold metal pressed against her fur. "Again, please."

As she did it again, Felicia noticed that he was beginning to laugh. "What?" she asked and shot him a look.

"I'm sorry, it's just," he stopped to stifle a laugh, "your tail's wagging again."

"I can't _help_ it! I'm still nervous!"

"Your tail makes you look more _excited_ than nervous."

"Stop pointing it out! You're making it worse!"

"It's so _cute_ though!" With a frustrated growl, Felicia stood up and walked away, leaning against the wall to help balance amongst the ship's swaying. Dr. Kagami stifled his laugh again and called, "Alright, alright, I'll let up. I'm sorry." Felicia sighed through her nose before returning to sit down in front of him. "Hold this to your chest for me, please?" he said as he held out the stethoscope's diaphragm to her. She carefully grasped it before pressing it against her chest and breathing in deeply. "You know, you still haven't told me what it's like, yet."

"Hm?"

"You know…" he motioned to her with a paw, "What it's like to be a completely different species now?"

Felicia flattened her ears and draped her fingers over her new canine muzzle. She tried not to think about how much shorter her tail was, or how she'd lost her stripes in exchange for a gray coat of fur. Her tail wagged vigorously as she rolled the words around in her mouth. "It's…weird…"

"Yes, I'd imagine," Dr. Kagami nodded, wrapping a Velcro cuff around Felicia's arm and pumping it with air, "I gotta say though, you're handling it pretty well with all things considered." Felicia offered a silent nod and let the old lion do his thing as her mind drifted back to when they first found out.

* * *

Having just destroyed the station hidden in Thailand, Felicia was rushing to the spot they'd agreed to meet at in the event that they got separated from each other. Her "pack mates" seemed to have vanished into thin air in the scuffle. At least, assuming she'd torn apart all of the androids here. Just in case, she kept an ear out as she ran.

She wasn't too far now, and in the distance, she could make out the outlines of Dr. Kagami. Excitement swelled up in her and spurred her onwards at an even faster rate. When she reached him, she nearly bowled over him as she shot into his arms and hugged him. "F-Felicia! Are you alright? Are you hurt? I heard the explosion and I almost thought—"

"I-I did it, Dr. Kagami!" Felicia exclaimed, raising her head from his chest and wagging her tail furiously, "I destroyed the station like I did in India!"

"You did?! Just like that?!"

"Yeah!" Felicia bounced on her toes.

"And you're not hurt?"

"Nope!"

"That's fantastic!" Felicia's tail wagged even faster at his praise. "Now come on; we gotta get going before any of those things catch up to us. Oh, and undo your transformation while we're at it. It'll be hard to sneak out of here with you wearing _that_."

"Oh, right!" Her fingers frantically fumbled with the DNAnalyzer until her claws managed to pry out the Vial inside. The amount of force she used flung it into the air before landing on the ground several feet away. Felicia yelped at this and immediately went to go pick it up as her armor vanished from sight.

"F-FELICIA?!"

She paused mid-kneel and swiveled an ear back upon hearing the tone of voice Dr. Kagami had used. She looked back and gave him a confused look. "W-what is it?" The old lion could only point a finger forwards, seemingly at a loss for words. Felicia blinked once before glancing behind her, finding nothing but more trees ahead. Unsure if she just wasn't able to see what he was seeing, she decided to grab the Vial in case another enemy was approaching. But when she looked back down and grabbed it, she realized why Dr. Kagami was so shocked. She first took notice of her new fur color. Then her longer nose, and then her tail. The Wolf Vial fell out of her paws once she finally put together what had happened.

* * *

"How did this even happen anyways?" Felicia asked as Dr. Kagami unstrapped the Velcro cuff on her arm.

"Well, do you understand how the DNAnalyzer works when we were just using it in the lab?"

"It…took my DNA and molded it into a copy of the samples the humans gave us, right?"

Dr. Kagami nodded. "That's what we were _trying_ to get it to do, yes. Well, it does the same thing now, but instead of changing a wad of spit you give it, it's changing the user _directly_."

"Is that why you wanted me to stick to the Tiger Vials?" she asked with her ears flat against her head.

"Exactly. Of course using human-era animal DNA is still different, but at least with tigers, you'd still be in the same line of animal."

Felicia looked at her paw for a moment. "…Did this happen to you too?"

"Not to _this_ degree, no. Back when I used the DNAnalyzer this way, the only things that ever changed were my forms and abilities. But I've made a lot of adjustments and tweaks to the device since then… Don't worry though. Judging from this outcome, the way to fix this is to use a Tiger Vial the next time you transform. We could even do it _now_ if you want."

At that, Felicia plucked a Vial from her necklace and stared at it. Her tail waved softly behind her and a low, thoughtful growl left her throat. She rolled it around a bit between her fingers before clipping it back onto her necklace. She wasn't surprised to see the shock in Dr. Kagami's eyes when she looked over to him. "As…much as I'd like to, I think it would be smarter to stay like this for a bit. I'm a fugitive, after all, so being a completely different species will probably make things easier for me."

The old lion smiled and nodded. He didn't want to say anything, but he could tell that she was still nervous about this whole ordeal. The fact that she was overcoming those feelings to work towards her goal was something he didn't want to get in the way of. "Well," he said, "if that's the case, then I should go shave. I can probably pass myself off as a mountain lion if I shave my mane close enough. In the meantime, rest up. Once we get to Indonesia, we're gonna get right into hunting down those stations." Felicia gave him a firm nod in response. Already, Dr. Kagami could see the fire that had been lit within her. " _Oh_ , right. Before I forget, try and come up with a fake name for yourself. 'Felicia' doesn't exactly fit that body anymore."

"R-right," the wolf nodded, "Um…do you have any suggestions?"

Dr. Kagami stroked his chin fur. "Hmmm…what about…Hau Lynn?"

"Hau…Lynn?" Felicia's brow furrowed, "…Wait, Hau Ly-Oh my god."

* * *

Alpha looked across the crowd of livid furs, knowing full well that her words could only do so much to quell their rage. She couldn't even blame them either; this Thailand resort had just been attacked by the "beast," and her androids had appeared completely unannounced. They had every right to be angry and confused. As much as she would've loved to just let them be angry and simmer down all on their own, she simply couldn't afford to here. Repairs were still being done on the station Felicia had destroyed, and they were not prepared to hide it with a cloaking device. She had to buy time for Omega and NexUs. Thus, here she was, standing face to face with the furious crowd.

The androids standing by next to her only stood and watched, being under orders to not move until the situation gets out of hand. This didn't help to set anyone at ease; not even Alpha. If anything, their presence only made the furs there _more_ furious. So many questions were being thrown at her that she could barely register any of them amongst the chaos. "I humbly apologize for the damage brought about by this most recent skirmish. I assure you that you will be provided proper compensation," she said to them, knowing full well that they had little to no intention of listening to her empty apologies.

"How long have these androids of yours been hiding here?!" one fur shouted.

"What are you trying to hide from us?! Why can't we go to the site of the explosion?!" shouted another.

"We will let you in as soon as it's safe," Alpha answered, her hands trembling slightly behind her back, "Right now it is too dangerous to let anyone else in. Once it is safe, we will allow you to investigate." Again, her words only spurred on more chaos. One of the androids stepped forward, but Alpha held up her hand to stop it. Nothing was going to calm them now, and allowing her androids to step in would only worsen things from here. All she could do now was hope that Omega would finish soon, before it was too late.

Back on their ship, Omega was working as fast as he could. His fingers were nothing but blurs as they swept across the keyboard with incredible speed and accuracy. Several overhead displays had been tossed aside the second they were done. Command prompts, status charts, and most recently, a new android design. Now he was back to the Thailand station's display. Command after command was being typed in, with Omega moving on to the next one as soon as the previous one was sent. He wasn't allowed to spare even a _second_. So many clocks were ticking, and so many of them had very little time left. He had to finish before _they_ could.

The worst part of it all was that he himself didn't know when those clocks would chime. If he did, it would be because they were in the process of chiming. He'd be far too late by then. Thus, he couldn't stop. He had to keep working. He couldn't make mistakes. The clock was ticking… The clock was ticking… The clock—

"'The cloaking device is ready for use!'" came NexUs' voice.

"'Tell Alpha to return!'" Omega shouted, "'We leave for Indonesia as soon as she's back!'"

"'Yes sir!'"

Omega's work did not cease. He wasn't done. He wasn't even _close_. The other stations still needed his attention. The new android needed to be constructed. Alpha needed to return safe and tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock…

* * *

Felicia's and Dr. Kagami's arrival went about as smoothly as they could've hoped for. Because of the particular method they'd used to get there, they'd managed to slip in without needing to go through a check-in process or go through any sort of background check. In fact, they'd gotten in without any sort of check whatsoever due to the fact that they'd had to sneak the rest of the way in once they hit dry land. That, along with the rest of their trip to Central Kalimantan, had gone without a hitch.

"You're all set, Mr. Dagon. Just go ahead and take a seat at any of the open computers and use the password on this card."

"Thank you, sir," the 'mountain lion' nodded after accepting the laminated card. He ran his paw over his now nearly non-existent mane as he made his way over to the computer an anxious-looking wolf was standing over. Before he could reach her, several smaller furs rushed past him and clamored around the computer their friend was using, with several bouncing excitedly on their feet. Once they were out of the way, and as soon as he took his seat, the wolf girl sat right next to him.

"Dr. Ka—"

"Ah-AH! C'mon Hau. We've been over this."

'Hau' let out a slow sigh. "Mr. Dagon?"

"Mr. Arthur _P_ Dagon." Felicia gave Dr. Kagami a silent stare. "…Right, what is it?"

"I looked up what you asked for, and it looks like you were right. We're not too far off from where the humans visited when they came to Indonesia."

"Good. If my hunch is correct, then one of those stations should be hidden somewhere nearby. Honestly we're lucky that we tried to hide where we went in Thailand, otherwise I never would've come up with this idea. I don't know how reliable this method will be, but searching in the exact places the humans visited is a good start for hunting down these stations." He set his laminated card down next to his keyboard as he typed in the password. "Keep looking up the other places they visited. I don't know if we'll get the chance to do this kind of research again."

"Right," Felicia nodded and turned back to her screen. As she typed, her tail wagged through the opening in her chair. Dr. Kagami smirked a little before looking at his own screen. As he reached for his mouse, he felt himself hesitate a little. Back when they were in Thailand, Felicia's phone had somehow gained international coverage, despite her parents never having done so. The lion suspected that it had been the work of the humans, but that thought was worrying. If they were able to do _that_ , who knew what else they could access? Or rather, what else they could monitor?

He set the thought aside as he opened up the browser and went to work. Even with all the noise coming from the kids nearby, he could _hear_ how furiously Felicia was typing. He looked over to her again and saw that her eyes were glued to her screen. Her brows were furrowed and her ears were tilted slightly forward along with the rest of her upper body. The only times she ever looked away were to jot notes down on a notepad.

But then, out of nowhere, Felicia's energy seemingly abandoned her all at once. Her fingers stopped moving, her tail stopped wagging and her ears began to droop. Listening carefully, Dr. Kagami could even hear a slight whimper escaping her throat. "…Felicia?" he softly called out to her. Immediately, Felicia snapped back to reality and busied herself with her notepad. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, "I just spaced out there. I'm fine."

"You're sure?" Felicia only answered him with a nod. He glanced over to her screen and the only thing he saw of note was an ad for a smartphone. He only caught that glimpse though, as Felicia clicked away to a different tab right after. He looked over to her again, and Felicia kept her gaze _welded_ to her screen. "Felicia, I can hear you growling."

Felicia stopped and held a paw to her throat, flattening her ears and whimpering ever so slightly. She tried to continue typing, but it was obvious that she wasn't going as fast as she could. "…I don't want to talk about it."

It was then that Dr. Kagami realized what had bothered her so much about the tab she'd been on, and right after, he realized that it wasn't a matter of not wanting to _talk_ about it, so much as it was a matter of not wanting to _think_ about it. Felicia struggling to suppress her whimpers provided considerable credibility to that idea. The old lion tore his eyes away from her. As much as he wanted to say something, this was an issue he had to let her bring up on her own.

Thus, the two worked in relative silence. Soft snarls of frustration escaped Felicia's lips as she fought to push out the thoughts that had once again invaded her head. She tried to focus on the contents of her screen instead, but even managing _that_ was difficult. What made things worse was the fact that the kids nearby were growing louder in volume, only adding to the difficulty. Every time one of them shouted in excitement or urged one of their friends in earnest, one of Felicia's ears would twitch and a growl would rumble in her throat.

She hit her limit once all of them exclaimed together in excitement. With a harsh snarl, she shoved herself away from her computer and stormed off towards the front window. She did her best to ignore the surprised stares coming from everyone else, keeping her eyes locked onto her destination and nothing else. Once she reached the window, she leaned against it with a paw, closed her eyes and took a _deep_ breath in. She pressed her other paw against her mouth, growing frustrated with her inability to get ahold of her new canine mannerisms. Even now, she couldn't stop herself from letting out soft whimpers.

She opened her eyes again to try and focus on something that _wouldn't_ add to her stress. Instead, she focused on watching the cars and motorbikes that were rolling by down the street running in front of the café. Her eyes drifted past the street and over to the buildings on the other side. She couldn't help but note how colorful some of them were, and the plethora of tarp signs only added to that. Even so, there was plenty of greenery to go around, with trees and grass separating the buildings out a fair amount. It only made the forest of powerlines stand out that much more.

Her eyes snapped back down as a thunderous engine rang in her ears. A second later, the motorcycle responsible raced by and spared her ears from further torment. The wolf turned away from the window, more or less ready to get back to work, but a sudden flash of memory stopped her in her tracks. She'd only caught it in a glimpse, but she was _sure_ that she'd just seen an all-too-familiar silhouette. Felicia whirled back around to double-check and, sure enough, her fears were confirmed. A small group of the humans' androids were emerging from the foliage, and they seemed to be heading in her direction.

Her tail remained tucked between her legs as she left the window and made her way back to Dr. Kagami. Nervous growls escaped her throat the entire walk over, drawing the attention of several of the other café-goers nearby. "…Doctor," she hissed through her teeth, drawing out soft whimpers with every call, " _…Doctor_."

"I told you not to call me that around others," he whispered without turning around. He inconspicuously tilted his head toward her seat, urging her to sit. Once she did, he asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"They found us," Felicia answered, urgently motioning to the door with her head, "There's some androids coming this way."

"Are you _sure_?" The wolf nodded furiously in response. "How long until they get here?"

"Th-they were walking, so maybe two or three minutes?"

"Okay, clear out your browser history and close everything up. We'll try and leave through the back." Nervous whimpers left Felicia's throat as she turned back to her screen and began to frantically click away. Dr. Kagami looked at his own screen to do the same, tossing his notes into his pack with his free paw as he did so.

He jolted a bit as Felicia's mouse clattered onto the floor. As she scrambled to pick it up, the lion glanced back to check the door. They were still in the clear, but he could see the androids beginning to cross the street. "Felicia, you need to stay calm," he spoke softly, "remember that they don't know we look like this yet. As long as you keep your cool, we'll be able to get out of here safely even if they reach us."

To her credit, Felicia was making an honest effort to keep calm. However, despite her efforts, she was still a fidgety, whimpering mess of a fur. The more she fought against them, the more they came out. "Alright just close everything out," he urged, "We gotta go." Felicia couldn't have clicked away faster if she'd tried. As soon as she'd made her last click, the wolf hurried off ahead of Dr. Kagami. The two of them made as little noise as possible as they made their way through the back, excusing themselves as going to the bathroom when one of the employees questioned them.

Once they made it outside, Dr. Kagami urged Felicia to continue walking along at a calm pace. "Don't look back," he whispered, "There might be other androids nearby. If we stay calm and stay out of their way, they won't think anything of us." Staying calm was easier said than done. Her tail was wagging out of control, and her whimpers were growing in volume. She bit down on her lip to try and get herself to stop, but that did nothing. Dr. Kagami's tail began to twitch as well, as her growing unease was setting _him_ at unease.

He made a quick glance at their surroundings to see if there were any androids nearby. Once he was relatively sure that there weren't, he brought the two of them to a stop and got in front of the anxious wolf. "Felicia, look at me. Everything's going to be alright, but you _need_ to calm down."

"I-I know," she replied through grit teeth, "b-but I just can't stop myself. My instincts are telling me to fight, m-my mind is telling me to run, I still haven't gotten over losing Paula—" Felicia jolted as the sounds of something crashing and shattering rang out from behind them. She nearly looked back, only for Dr. Kagami's paw to stop her. "Was…did that come from the café?"

Dr. Kagami's ears flattened. "It…might've. I don't know how they managed to single us out so quickly, but from the looks of things, the humans are monitoring online activity too. They must've noticed we were looking up specific locations and realized it was us."

Felicia fought the urge to turn around again. "So then…"

"They must be ransacking the place in search of us," Dr. Kagami finished Felicia's sentence. "Come on, we need to go before they notice we left from there." When the old lion tried to urge her along, she didn't move an inch. He blinked. "Felicia? Come on, we gotta go!"

Felicia's ear perked as she caught the sound of a frightened squeal. "They're…are they…"

"They'll be fine. The humans don't intend on hurting anyone if they don't have to. Now come ON."

Again, Felicia didn't budge. "Are they…in danger because of us?"

"Felicia. NO." Dr. Kagami looked her dead in the eyes. "We don't have to do anything. They're not going to hurt anyone." Despite the urgency in his voice and the pleading look in his eyes, he could tell he was not getting to her. Felicia's tail wagged furiously, and her eyes kept twitching to the side. When another loud crash and frightened exclamation rang out, Felicia bolted away from Dr. Kagami and raced back to the café. He shouted after her, but his shouts fell upon deaf ears.

With her heart hammering away, Felicia yanked a vial off of her necklace and jammed it into the DNAnalyzer hidden beneath her shirt.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

As its voice rang out, the androids froze in place.

 **WOLF!**

Felicia leapt upwards before slamming her thumb against the buckle's button.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Once she hit the floor, she was in her wolf armor, taking off like a gray bullet. And when she saw one of the androids running up to greet her, she greeted _it_ with an open jaw and a set of spread claws. The android was torn to shreds the second they slammed into each other. The resulting crash sent the entire café into chaos. More screams erupted and more screens and keyboards were tossed about.

As Felicia picked herself up from the mess of android limbs and shattered screens, she noticed the kids from before were all huddled up in the corner of the café. An android hand clamped onto her shoulder an instant later, and without warning, she was thrown across the room and slammed against the wall. The kids all screamed when she tumbled onto the floor right in front of them and huddled even closer together.

Felicia raised her head back up with a groan and saw one of the androids grab a broken slab of wood and lift it over its head, ready to swing it down against her. But before it could finish its swing, a gray blur shot out and tackled it to the ground. A second later, another one rushed out to take down the other android preparing to strike. Felicia had no idea when they had emerged, but she was more than happy to see that her "pack mates" were out and about. The armored wolf glanced back at the kids one last time before realizing that they _really_ needed to take this outside, lest someone get hurt in the chaos.

Right on cue, her pack mates let out ferocious snarls and began to force the androids out of the café and out into the street. Felicia climbed back up to her feet and started after them, only to stop and glance back again. The kids were as terrified as ever, trembling and hiding their faces beneath their arms. She found herself wanting to say something to them, to comfort them in any way she could. But before she could muster up the words, an android came crashing through the front window. Immediately, Felicia whirled around and grappled her robotic adversary. With a frustrated growl, she forced the android back outside and left the kids to fend for themselves.

As they emerged from the café, the back of the android's foot caught against something, leading to the two of them tumbling out onto the road. By the time Felicia rolled onto all fours, another android came diving at her. But before it could reach her, one of her pack mates leapt over her and caught it in her arms, flinging the two of them away from her. The first android took that chance to barrel towards her, but this time Felicia was ready.

She sprung herself up with her legs and clawed into its face as it ran by, taking off a chunk of its face plate along the way. The android tried to retaliate by swinging around and throwing a roundhouse kick at her back, but the armored wolf ducked beneath it by landing on all fours again. She quickly got back up and swung wide with her gauntleted arm and cleaved its head _clean_ off its body. As that one fell, two more came to take its place. Felicia primed herself to take them on, but the sounds of a rapidly approaching car made her heart stop.

She whipped her gaze back to see a car speeding towards them. Her body acted completely on its own as she hastily dove aside, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision as it raced by. Tire screeches rang through the air as the androids behind her tried to leap over the speeding vehicle. One managed to make it whilst the other was bashed to bits by the speeding car. Its pieces scattered across the street as the car swerved into the street's dividing k-rail.

The second she heard another car coming, she knew she had to move. She wasted no time in bolting for the other side of the street and leaping over the k-rail. Car horns rang out as the oncoming car zoomed past, nearly taking out the android chasing Felicia with it. She vaulted over another speeding car before leading her pack mates and the androids they'd been fighting into the grassy field just across the street.

It was only when she was sure that everyone had made it in that she began her counterattack. With the aid of her pack mates, Felicia circled all the androids to round them up in one big cluster before leaping into them to tear them apart one by one. None could escape the wrath of her pack. Limbs were thrown everywhere and metal scraps were scattered about. It didn't take long before the android squad that had come after her was reduced to nothing but a pile of broken machinery.

She was about to toss her head back and howl in victory, but the sounds of heavy footsteps made her stop. She shot back down to all fours as she turned to face whatever was approaching, and what she saw was a very troubling sight. It was another android, but definitely not like the ones she'd just torn apart. It had shields like Mu, except rather than sticking to one, this one was practically _wrapped_ with them. They hung around the machine like a heavy-duty coat. A sinister green broke up the shadowy mass of black metal, making its eyes stand out all the more. And just like the last upgraded android, tampographed right in the center of its front shields was a Greek Alphabet symbol; xi.

Felicia flexed her claws and carefully began to circle Xi. The last upgraded android she'd fought had by no means been a walk in the park, but she hadn't had her own little pack back then. If she could take this thing down quickly, then the station here would be easy pickings. As she and her pack mates circled the android, Xi opted to stay perfectly still and analyze their actions. Its eyes remained locked on Felicia, much like how Mu had done so in its fight.

And just like with Mu, she'd use that fact to her advantage. With its attention locked onto her, the pack mate behind it took the chance to charge in from behind. She bounded off the ground on all fours, keeping her gaze locked on Xi's exposed head. But just before she could reach the android, her front paw pressed into something on the ground. In the next instant, sparks filled the air and electricity surged through her body.

The android's shield-coat snapped open with a resounding crack as she convulsed uncontrollably. Then in one motion, the coat shot open and the android swung around. Felicia's pack mate was thrown into the air, a gash in her armor left behind by the sharp, angled hook-like blades in Xi's grasp. As the first pack mate hit the ground, the second one leapt in from the side with her claws spread. Xi closed its coat before she could reach it, causing her to bounce off of one of the shields uselessly.

Before she could slip away, the android opened its coat and caught one of her arms in one of its hooks to _fling_ her straight at Felicia. The armored wolf only had time to shield herself before her pack mate slammed directly into her and sent her tumbling across the grass and into the wall behind her. Xi closed its coat again and began stalking towards them, but the first pack mate rushed in to intercept it.

This gave Felicia and her second pack mate the time they needed to get back up. Once they were on their feet, she decided it was time for an all-out attack. She and her pack mate rushed up to Xi, and together, all three of them assaulted the android from all sides. They clawed and scraped at the android's shields, but even with such relentless attacks, none of them seemed to be getting through. Suddenly, several panels opened up on the shields and small pad-like objects popped out.

Before Felicia could get away, the pads hit the ground and erupted into a blindingly bright light. All of the armored wolves yelped as their retinas were lit aflame, shielding their eyes with their arms. Felicia heard Xi's coat snap open before she was met with sharp pains in her chest. Her vision cleared back up by the time she hit the ground, and this allowed her to watch as Xi closed in on her pack mates. One had somehow gotten her leg caught in a bear trap and was now taking several strikes from Xi's bladed hooks. When the other tried to rush in to help, her foot landed on one of the pads and a wire net exploded from the ground and wrapped around her.

One by one, the pack mates fell, utterly helpless as Xi's hooks found their way into them. Once the last one fell, Felicia knew it was time to get out of there. Felicia's claws tore up grass as she bolted, and when she looked back, she was surprised to see Xi actually managing to keep up. Her heart jumped to her throat as a car horn blared in her ears. She screeched to a halt just in time for a car to zoom right past her face. In her panic, she'd nearly run right back out into the road.

A sharp pain cut into Felicia's unarmored shoulder as Xi's hook yanked her backwards. Rather than fight against it, she used that momentum to whirl around and throw a harsh swing right at Xi's head. But rather than tear into its face, her claws clanged against one of Xi's shields. She cried out in pain as the android swung both hooks against her chest plate, sending her flying right out into the street. She desperately tried to right herself as she tumbled, but that only seemed to make things harder on her. It wasn't until _after_ she was done rolling that she was able to stumble back up.

Her heart nearly stopped as another car came _right at her_. Adrenaline raced through her system as her instincts kicked in. She hastily jumped up and threw her claws into the car's roof to lift herself over it. Her shoulder banged against the end of the car, causing her to spin and bang her other shoulder against the pavement. She forced herself back up and sprinted for the other side of the street. Her legs wobbled with each car she had to stop and go for, only made worse by the fact that she could see Xi still steadily approaching.

After one last frantic leap, Felicia made it to the other side. She ended up landing right in front of a fur that'd been watching nearby and startled him right off of his bike. He and several other bikers scrambled away from her as she glanced back and forth between them and Xi. Without really thinking, she grabbed onto one of the nearest bikes and hopped on. "Sorry, just borrowing this!" she shouted before revving it up and shooting down the road.

Unfortunately for her, riding one of these wasn't as easy as it looked. She wobbled and swerved as she fought to keep her center of balance, and all it took was one bad turn for her to lose control. She flew off as the bike tipped and slammed into the ground, sending her tumbling into some nearby shrubbery. She groaned as she picked herself back up. "Okay…we're not trying that again," she grumbled before getting on all fours and bolting off into the distance.

* * *

 _~Special thanks to a friend of mine for providing valuable insight on Indonesia. You know who you are. ^^_


	9. Chapter 8: Trap Master

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 8

"'We're doing what's right… We're doing what's necessary… We're doing what we need to do to survive…'" Alpha paced around in her room in solitude. She'd gone here as soon as she boarded the ship. Isolating herself even from NexUs. Her hands were clasped tightly around each other as she continued to mumble to herself. "'Their anger is justified and a consequence of the actions we need to take. It's unavoidable. So long as I keep that anger at this level, it won't be a problem for us.'"

Alpha slowed to a stop and looked over to the door. Though she couldn't see him, she knew that Omega was hard at work. "'…I need to stop ruminating on this so much; doing so is only making things harder on me. The more doubtful I become, the more I falter in the face of all of those furs. Omega can't afford to hesitate now, and neither can I.'" She continued to pace the room with her gaze lowering to the floor. "'Stay focused on the mission. Stay focused on what we're working towards. Stay focused on who we're doing this for. Don't think about what I'm doing to these people…'" For the briefest of moments, the image of Dr. Kagami flashed in her mind. This made her step falter, and she had to take a moment to right herself. "'…Don't think about it at all… Don't think… Just don't think…'"

* * *

Felicia's armored snout carefully emerged from the tall grass she'd nestled into. After making one last check of her surroundings and ensuring there were no androids in sight, she retreated back inside and plucked the Vial out from the DNAnalyzer. A flash of light cast her armor away, allowing her to safely emerge from the grass in a way that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. She dusted herself off as she stepped back onto the sidewalk, continuing to watch her surroundings carefully.

Though there were still no signs of any androids, she couldn't get her tail to untuck from her legs. The fact that the two of them were already discovered here in Indonesia was already troubling enough. It was only made worse by the fact that Xi had been designed to perfectly counter Felicia's new form despite her only ever using it _once_. She had no clue how they could manage it, but it was more than clear that the humans were incredibly fast workers.

She set the thought aside for now to focus on more immediate issues. Because they'd forgone getting any sort of burner phone, Felicia had no way of contacting Dr. Kagami. They'd both already agreed on a meeting spot in the case that the two of them had gotten separated, so she had no doubt the old lion was heading over there as well. All she had to do now was meet up with him.

She hoped it would be as easy as it sounded. Prior to all of this, Dr. Kagami had warned her of the risks walking around on her own carried around here. Being both a young girl and a foreigner put a sizable spotlight on her, and she needed to get out of it as soon as possible. Already, she was noticing the odd stares she was getting from strangers as she passed them by on the sidewalk. She kept her head down and her tail as still as she could manage as she walked along at a brisk pace.

Luckily she didn't end up walking into any sort of trouble. Other than the few odd stares and some anxiety-inducing pointing, Felicia reached her destination completely undisturbed. But she didn't relax until she saw the mane-less lion standing a couple of blocks away from her. She used the five seconds of eye contact they made as an excuse to hurry the rest of the way over to him. "GUHlad to see you're alright too," he huffed out as she threw herself into his arms. He pat her back once before letting her go. "Alright, let's head inside. You're probably hungry by now…" Felicia's stomach growl answered him before _she_ could. With a sheepish smile, she nodded and let Dr. Kagami lead them in.

The restaurant they'd entered was thankfully small and quiet. There were only a couple of other furs eating there as well, so finding a seat was easy. It didn't take long for their food to arrive after they put their orders in. The old lion waited for their server to leave before he spoke up. "Ok, so I think it's pretty clear by now that there _must_ be a station nearby. They wouldn't have been so close to us otherwise. From the research I did, I know for a fact that they didn't start showing up around any other part of Indonesia but this one."

Felicia nodded thoughtfully as she chewed on a piece of fish. "So then…" she paused to swallow, "do you think this station is _also_ in a nearby forest?"

"It's very likely. It's hard to imagine the humans would try to build it anywhere public, especially with how hard they've been working to hide them from the world." He rolled his thoughts around in his head as he sipped down some of his iced tea. "So we have a general idea of where to start. Only question now is how to nail down its exact location. It's hardly safe to go in and wander around blindly…and we just learned that looking things up online will only put us at risk again."

Felicia's ears slowly flattened. With her brows furrowed, she poked at the fish on her plate and said, "Well…I could always lure the androids out…and watch where they were coming from. I've noticed from fighting them that they never come out all at once. They come out group by group, one after the other, a-and if I just follow them down that line, I feel like it'll lead me straight to the station."

Dr. Kagami was caught off guard. She was never the type to draw attention to herself, so hearing her want to do so _willingly_ was new to him. He gave himself time to recollect himself by downing some more of his food. "That's actually not a bad idea, but if we end up picking a spot that's too far away, they'll be able to come at you from any direction and lead you astray. If we're gonna do this, I think our best option is to ask around first and gather as much info as we can. That way we can pick a spot that's as close to the station's location as possible."

The wolf swallowed hard. "A…ask around?"

And _there_ was the Felicia he knew. Dr. Kagami took some time to chew on his food. "Don't worry; you and I will be walking around, but I'll do most of the talking. I just don't want to leave you behind after—"

"N-no!" Felicia waved her paw, once again catching the old lion by surprise, "I'm-I…I'll be fine. Things will go faster if I'm also asking around."

"Felicia…you don't have to force yourself on this."

"I'm not." Dr. Kagami only stared at her in response. "…Ok maybe a little. But it's fine. No need to worry about me."

"Worrying about you 's kind of my job, kiddo."

"Well…" Felicia rolled the words around in her head, "you don't need to this time. All we're doing is talking to people. You can save the worrying for when I'm… _actually_ in danger."

"Fair enough," Dr. Kagami held his paws up, "but for the record, I'd prefer it if we _don't_ reach that point if we can avoid it." A smile crept up Felicia's muzzle as the old lion gave her a playful nudge across the table. "Alright, let's finish up lunch so we can head out." With the same warm smile still on, Felicia returned her attention to her food and started eating again.

* * *

Felicia's weight shuffled back and forth between her heels. She knew exactly what to do, but she still had to get herself to do it. The leopard family she had set her eyes on was walking further away, and the longer she waited, the worse it would be for her. She glanced back at Dr. Kagami, hoping for some form of support, but he was already busy talking with a different set of furs. No way around it; she had to do this herself. The wolf closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She counted down in her head. Five…four…three…

She got moving before she could finish, preventing herself from backing out at the very last second. Her heart hammered harder in her chest with each step she took, and by the time she got just behind the family she was following, it felt ready to burst right out of her chest. After several failed attempts, Felicia managed to clear her throat and get their attention. "Hi um…sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could help me out with something?" The way the family backed one step away from her made her voice falter a bit. Once she realized she still needed to greet them properly, she held out her slightly trembling paw and said, "M-my name's Hau Lynn. Nice to meet you."

But the action only seemed to scare them off further. Felicia's ears flattened as the family hastened their steps and hurried off. She groaned inwardly and rubbed at her upper arm, ruffling up her fur in the process. With no other families or groups in sight, the wolf decided to just quietly return to Dr. Kagami's side.

"Okay, thank you very much. Have a good day," the mane-less lion waved as the group he'd been talking to walked away, "Hey Hau. Any luck so far?"

"N-not yet," she replied without looking him in the eyes, "but I'm gonna keep trying."

Dr. Kagami looked over her shoulder to where the family she'd tried talking to was hurrying. "Last try didn't go so well, huh?" Felicia just shook her head in shame. "Yeah, don't worry, Hau. I'm having trouble too. As a foreigner around these parts, it's not easy trying to ask furs our strange questions without arousing suspicions."

"No, it's not that. I just…" Felicia shook her head, biting her lip, "Never mind. Thanks." She turned away to leave, but Dr. Kagami's paw stopped her from getting away.

"Felicia…are you sure you don't want to just let me do all of the asking?"

"Yes. I'll be fine."

" _Will_ you?"

It took a bit of time for Felicia to respond. "I'll be fine _enough_. So please let go of me."

"Only after you've fully convinced me that you can actually handle doing this."

A growl left the wolf's throat. "Why should it matter if I can or can't?"

"Because I don't want you stressing yourself out over doing something that'll only save us maybe a couple minutes or so!"

The girl was shuddering now. "It doesn't matter how stressed I am! All that matters is getting this done as soon as possible!"

"But saving us every _minute_? Do you really want to do this to yourself just for _that_?"

"YES!" this time, Felicia turned to face him with tears rolling down her cheeks, "Because every minute I waste is another minute of this-th-this MISERY! It's another minute I have to spend running in fear and another minute I have to grieve over losing Paula!" Her throat closed up on her and she began to break down. "I just…wanna go home. I wanna get back to my regular life, where the worst thing I had to worry about was just dealing with my house life, not running from killer robots. I-I just want to go back and-and forget all of this ever happened!"

Dr. Kagami felt a pang of guilt as he watched her break down into tears. He tried to reach out to console her, but the wolf stepped out of his reach before he could. A whimpering snarl left Felicia's throat as she began to walk away. "I'm sorry. I-I'm wasting time now."

"Felicia—"

"PLEASE…" Her voice faltered a bit, forcing her to stop and try to regain her composure. "Just…leave me be this time… I'll get over it."

Dr. Kagami's heart felt heavy as he watched her cross the street to continue looking out for more pedestrians. He swished his tail uncomfortably as he tried to get himself to do the same. Luckily for him, a family was already headed right for him. He cast one last sidewards glance towards Felicia before letting out a sigh and offering his paw to the family. "Hi there. My name is Arthur P. Dagon. Sorry to bother you, but do you mind helping me out with something?"

* * *

The soft, metal clicks of Alpha's heels stopped as soon as she stepped off of the ship's lowered metal bridge and onto the concrete pavement of the airport. She didn't look back as the ship retracted the bridge and slowly rose back up into the air, instead focusing her eyes on the limo that was parked several meters away from her. A sharply dressed leopard stepped out of the driver's seat to open a door for her, stepping aside and clasping his paws behind his back as he waited for her. Alpha offered him a silent bow of appreciation before carefully stepping inside and taking a seat. She settled in as the chauffeur closed the door behind her and stepped back into the driver's seat.

"'Alpha?'" NexUs' voice rang inside her head, "'It has come to my attention that news of Felicia's sighting in Indonesia has managed to spread worldwide.'"

"'It has?'" Alpha replied without the use of her actual voice. As such, the chauffeur drove on without any knowledge of there being an ongoing conversation. The cybernetic human crossed her legs over one another and carefully clasped her hands together as she went on. "'You should've been able to intercept and suppress all of the reports. What happened?'"

"'I tried to, but too many. I can't touch live broadcasts, and too many online posts were being made for me to block. If I had blocked more than I had, suspicion would begin to arise and I would likely be compromised.'" Alpha hissed out a sigh of frustration. "'Alpha, furs worldwide are beginning to grow very concerned. I'm worried that further outbursts will begin to occur more frequently if this is not addressed soon.'"

"'Well then, it's best to not keep them waiting.'" The cybernetic human then looked up to the driver and said to him, "Chauffeur, please turn off the radio. I'm about to make a very important announcement." The leopard nodded and reached out to turn down the radio's volume until it was barely even a whisper. Once that was done, Alpha produced a small, hexagonal device from her hand and pressed down on its center. With a click and a whirr, the device sparked to life and slowly rose from her palm.

"'The worldwide uplink is almost ready,'" NexUs' voice rang in her head, "'You'll be live in five…four…three…two…one.'"

"Greetings, everyone," Alpha began, her voice calm and collected as usual, "I am here to address a very important issue that has begun to plague several parts of the world. That is, the ravenous beast that is Felicia Baagh, the seventeen year-old tigress currently convicted of three murders in her home town. You have all been informed that she is dangerous and that she is on the run. However…I have been purposely neglecting to explain to you all how she had become so dangerous as well as why I cannot allow anyone but us to intervene. I understand that was wrong of me to do, as it has caused much unrest around the world, and for that, I humbly apologize on behalf of the rest of humanity.

The truth is that…is that I am partially responsible. I had supplied her the means to transform into the wild beast that has caused so much havoc in the past few days: a set of DNA Vials sampled from feral era animals. Using these in tandem with a device she carries allows her to achieve unimaginable strength and agility. We are uncertain at this time if she used these abilities to carry out the murders she is convicted of, but we believe this is very likely. These abilities far exceed the capabilities of the average officer or soldier, and that is why we continue to ask you all to avoid this girl at all costs and to allow us to intervene. I understand that asking this is overstepping our boundaries, seeing as we've unfairly kept such important details a secret from the world. Regardless, I still ask you this in the interest of your safety.

"Please understand; Felicia is carrying levels of strength and agility rivaling those of the monstrous 'Dopants' that still plague Japan. For this very reason, we are looking into whether reaching out to the organization 'Amnesia' is a viable option. Until that decision is reached, our well-equipped androids will serve as enough of a deterrent against this unpredictable threat."

Alpha bowed her head deeply. "Once again, on behalf of the rest of the human race, I apologize for my secrecy and deceit. Please allow me to make up for my wrongdoings by righting the wrongs I've caused. We have the technology necessary to bring Felicia down, and we will not rest until she is successfully neutralized. This is Alpha, the first of the returned humans, signing off." After a couple more seconds, the small device stopped whirring and dropped back into Alpha's palm. She clasped it gently and returned to her original sitting position. "Thank you, chauffeur. You may turn the radio back on if you wish."

As the leopard did so, Alpha fought the urge to collapse and betray her nonchalant façade. But rather than focus her efforts on that, she chose to instead focus them on actively silencing thoughts of a certain lion that were beginning to sprout back up in her head. After thinking about Felicia so much, it had only been a matter of time before thoughts of _him_ followed. Doing so felt almost akin to torture, as every question that formed in her head stabbed at her heart for every second it lingered. Luckily for her, this was an action she noticed was becoming much easier with practice, and it was over before she knew it. The rest of her ride was mercifully quiet, with her gaze wandering out of her tinted window, and the sounds of the radio occupying her senses for the time being.

* * *

"So it looks like we've got a pretty solid idea of where to set up shop," Dr. Kagami declared once Felicia had finished recapping her latest exchange, "and judging from the giant ship floating in the distance, it looks like even the _humans_ know we're on the right track."

"So…we're good to go then, right?" Felicia asked with her tail wagging behind her, "All I have to do now is transform, cause some havoc and wait for the androids to come pouring in?"

"Let's not get hasty; you still don't know how to take down Xi."

"Yeah, but I can just figure it out as I go along."

Dr. Kagami firmly shook his head. "Felicia, one wrong move spells disaster for the both of us. We need to be careful on how we approach this, otherwise we might as well be _handing ourselves over_ to the humans."

Felicia's gaze fell to the ground, and a soft growl left her throat. "I don't know what else there is to plan… I just need to use my pack mates to win with numbers."

"And how'd that go the _first time_?"

Another growl came. "Well, it was the _first time_. It'll be different this time. Now I _know_ what to expect from that thing."

Dr. Kagami sighed. "Alright, I'll trust your judgement. Just don't do anything stupid, alright?" Felicia nodded insistently. "Now…are you _sure_ you want to stick with the current plan? All it would do is reinforce the idea that you're some kind of monster."

Felicia looked around at the cluster of furs walking around the pop-up market set up along the street. Her ears flattened against her head at the thought of so many eyes suddenly focusing on her. "Well, I don't like it either, but it's not like I can do anything about it. You heard Alpha's latest broadcast too, didn't you?" Dr. Kagami pursed his lips together as he nodded. "There's…there's no way we're convincing anyone otherwise, so we might as well double down on it."

"And you're sure that you can handle…" the old lion motioned to the crowd with his paws, " _that_?"

A soft whimper left Felicia's throat as she once again looked to the bustling crowd. "…I'm not…but I'll manage." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Alright, let's do this." At that, she sunk deeper into the tall grass they'd been hiding in. Meanwhile, Dr. Kagami stepped _out_ and made his way towards the stairway of a building nearby. Felicia watched him carefully with her fingers clenched tightly around the wolf Vial latched onto her necklace. Once he reached the top of the stairwell and gave her a thumbs up, she plucked the Vial off of her necklace and shoved it into the DNAnalyzer.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **WOLF!**

She wasted no time in smacking the button on the right.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

With a grunt, she kicked herself off of the ground and flung herself out into the open. Once her feet hit the ground, she let out a howl that grabbed the attention of everyone nearby. It didn't take long before the entire market erupted into chaos. Screams rang out and furs scrambled back as quickly as they could away from Felicia, who lowered herself onto all fours to inch towards the crowd. Food, clothes, and bags of all sorts of goods were tossed about, left scattered across the street as the area was swiftly vacated. The armored wolf couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief over knowing that the worst part of this was already over.

But only a minute or two later, urgent shouts from Dr. Kagami reminded her that she was _far_ from done. From the opposite end of the pop-up market, where everyone else had run off to, emerged a swarm of androids that were headed straight for her. Felicia dug her claws into the ground, tensed her shoulders and clenched her jaw before catapulting herself into action. The leading android was the first to fall victim to her claws, being disarmed in the most literal sense of the word before Felicia dug into its torso and ripped it in two.

But that created an opening that two incoming androids were intent on monopolizing. They ran atop the rows of portable canopies and leapt down upon her to strike. They never got to land because Felicia's pack mates emerged from her back and caught them mid-air in their claws and teeth. After they hit the ground and began devouring their most recent catch, Felicia charged forward and shoved her way past the other incoming androids. Just as she'd thought, they were all coming at her in a single trail, and she was intent on following that trail all the way to their station. She tried not to think about the fact that she was essentially leaving Dr. Kagami alone with a horde of androids, reminding herself that they were after _her_ and not some random "mountain lion."

She grunted as one of the market stands was kicked over right in front of her, tripping her up hard enough to throw her off balance. The android closest to her took that chance to grapple her and bring her down to the ground. Her pack mates rushed in to help, but they were swiftly cut off by the horde of androids rushing in past her. Felicia thrashed around with the one still on her, frantically kicking away the other ones trying to pile on her. The android caught her in a headlock before she could simply claw away at its arms. She flailed around desperately in hopes of grabbing onto _something_ , but all her claws found were broken canopy parts.

Her heart leapt as she saw another android leap into the air with a metal fence post raised over its head. Thinking fast, Felicia hurled herself to the side and forced herself and her robotic captor onto their sides. That offset her just enough for the leaping android's fence post to go through its _ally's_ head, rather than her own. With its grip loosened, Felicia wrenched herself free and rammed her elbow into the head of the other android. That left it stunned long enough for her to get up, bound off of its back and onto the canopies nearby.

They all wobbled and creaked under her weight as she ran across them on all fours, using her new elevation to spot where the line of androids was leading. One suddenly tore through one of the canopies ahead of her and swiped at her. Acting fast, she bounded off of the canopy row she was on and onto the one to her left. The canopy she landed on crumpled under her weight, and she crashed into the ground as a result. Androids tried to pile onto her as she got up, but this time her pack mates were ahead of the game. They slammed into the ones coming in and threw them off course.

Once she was back up, Felicia took off in the direction she'd seen the line of androids lead towards. As expected, it was leading deep into the nearby forest. She and her pack mates raced past several incoming androids, no doubt with a horde of them trailing just behind. Realizing she'd be better off taking them all down before their numbers grew too great, she issued a mental command to her pack mates to turn around and take them out _for_ her. Seconds later, all she could hear behind her were angry snarls and crunching metal.

She couldn't help but smile a little after hearing that.

Felicia raced onwards with all of her might. With so little in her way, she felt like there was nothing that could stop her at this rate. All it took was one triggered pad to change that mindset. Her paw ended up landing on a hidden pad she hadn't noticed, and immediately after, she was ensnared in a large net. It tightened around her until all she could do was squirm in place.

Her heart began to race as soon as she realized that she'd completely forgotten about Xi. Now here she was, caught in one of its traps. She frantically thrashed around and tried to tear away at the net, but her arms were too tightly constrained against her body. She knew her pack mates were on their way to free her, but with the sounds of heavy footsteps nearing, Felicia wondered if they'd make it back in time. Fearing for the worst, her mind raced to try and find a way out of this situation. Then she realized that, while her limbs were bound, her jaws _weren't_.

She opened wide and clamped down on the net's strings, gnawing at them until her teeth cut deep into them. Then with a sharp turn of her head, the net was torn open. Once she'd freed herself from the net, a sharply angled hook found itself around Felicia's wrist. Seconds later, she was flung off of her feet and sent tumbling backwards. She wasn't in the least bit surprised once she got up and saw what was responsible for her untimely flight.

Xi closed its shields back up with a resounding _snap_ as Felicia's pack mates ran to join her side. Felicia herself chose not to move, fearing that she may end up step on another of the android's traps. Thus, her pack mates began to make a _wide_ circle around Xi. The android didn't seem to care for them in the least, as it kept its eyes trained on her alone. This made it difficult for her to try and scan the ground for traps without breaking eye contact with the cybernetic adversary.

It was for that reason she chose to send one of her pack mates in. With an audible growl, she charged forward and pounced. As Xi turned to intercept her, Felicia frantically scanned the ground for any metallic glints amongst the grass and dirt. Just as she caught sight of one behind her, her pack mate slammed into her in the next instant and knocked her onto her back. Her hand ended up knocking against it on the way down, but much to her surprise, the impact didn't trigger any sort of reaction from it. Instead, it merely skidded across the ground uselessly.

The sharp snap of Xi's shields yanked her attention back to the fight. She and her pack mate scrambled out of the way before its hook blades could impale them. Xi swung wildly at the two of them after prying its weapons out of the dirt. Suddenly both of Felicia's pack mates leapt in at it from the front and the back. Xi's shields caught them by shooting up and blocking their bodies altogether. It struggled against their weight for a moment before turning back to Felicia and chucking one of its hooks right at her.

She ducked down in time for it to sail right over her and embed itself right into the trap she'd knocked back earlier. Immediately, a set of metal jaws shot up and clamped around Xi's hook. Seeing this distracted her long enough for Xi to shake off her vicious pack mates and rush past her, landing a cheap shot on her as it passed by. It stopped in front of the trapped hook and grabbed onto the handle with a hand. Then, using its foot, it pried the trap open and freed its weapon.

Felicia found herself staring again as she processed what she had just seen. One second later, her retinas were lit aflame. She shielded her face and stumbled backwards as she recovered from the flashbang. Just ahead of her, she could hear the loud snap of Xi's shields closing and the vicious growls of her pack mates. Once her vision was clear enough, Felicia could see that they were once again struggling to break through the android's defenses.

One of them was forced back, and the back of her ankle knocked something into the air. It landed in front of Felicia, and she was surprised to find that it was yet another of Xi's traps. Gears began to turn in her head, and soon an idea began to form. Whether it was the good idea that she hoped it was, or the crazy idea she _felt_ it was, she was about to find out.

As her pack mates continued to keep Xi busy, Felicia grabbed the trap in front of her and ran off deeper into the woods. The android noticed this and snapped its shields open to run after her, but her pack mates made that a difficult task. The open shields meant an open _spot_ for them to attack, and they were doing so with gusto. Xi was able to fend them off with its hooks, but it wasn't getting anywhere and the real Felicia was getting further and further away. So it dropped its hooks and grabbed trap pads from inside its shields before lunging forward and slamming them against their torsos. They both spasmed violently from the trap's electricity before Xi snatched its hooks back up and swung them against their chests.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Their bodies faded away into nothingness before they could even hit the ground. With them gone, Xi wasted no time in resuming pursuit. She disappeared into the tall grass, but that didn't discourage the android one bit. It sliced away with its hooks at the tall grass with fervor, clearing the way and making it all the easier to continue running at full speed. It didn't matter how tall the grass was, nor did it matter how many trees were there to obstruct its path. It had its objective and it was going to complete it. Period.

With one final swipe, its way was completely cleared. All that remained was some knee-deep grass and more trees scattered about. Aside from the columns of light leaking through the canopy of leaves, the area was shrouded in shadow. Xi closed its shields and carefully scanned the area. Not a single twitch of motion escaped its sights, be it a leaf or a blade of grass. Xi instantly caught sight of rustling grass and found its target in her tiger form crouched low to the ground and looking right at it.

Felicia froze up in fear as Xi snapped its shields open and charged straight ahead. Her claws dug deep into the ground and her tail tucked close to her body as she prepared herself for the worst. The android got closer and Closer and CLOSER!

Only to stop completely.

Felicia's heart leapt as she saw it close up its shields and struggle to move. Through some stroke of luck, she had actually gotten the trap-maker to fall into one of its own traps. Realizing that it wasn't going to free itself in this condition, Xi snapped its shields open to reach down to the trap and properly free itself. That's when Felicia struck. Her powerful leg muscles shot her forward and catapulted her right into Xi's shield coat. As soon as she made impact, she lashed her claws around wildly, ripping and tearing everything within her reach.

Metal crunched and snapped before Xi finally managed to force Felicia off, but she took with her one of its front shields. She landed on the ground with its attached arm still in her jaws. With its defenses now compromised and its leg still caught in the trap, Xi used its remaining shields to deploy every trap in its arsenal and surround itself in them. Felicia used her recently acquired shield to protect her eyes from the onslaught of flashbangs going off. Then, glancing at the trees behind her, she smacked her thumb against the left button of her belt buckle.

 **D-N-ANNIHILATION!**

With a roar, she tossed the severed shield aside and ran for the trees. Xi chucked one of its hooks at her to stop her from making an escape. Only, she _wasn't_ trying to escape. The hook sailed under her as she leapt up and kicked herself off of one of the trees, sending herself flying through the air. Then with a mighty roar, she drove her foot forward and _rammed_ it directly into Xi's body, unleashing onto it a devastating amount of kinetic energy.

Felicia shot through Xi like a missile as its body erupted into a brilliant explosion. She skid to a stop several meters away, leaving a trail of torn up grass and dirt behind in her wake. She turned to face the shattered remains of her robotic adversary after prying her feet out of the ground. She walked over and extinguished a small fire from amongst its broken parts beneath her heel before turning back to the direction she'd been headed. That was one android down, and one more station to go…

* * *

Felicia sighed as she settled into her seat on the plane, happy to be back in her old body. She swished her striped tail and allowed her eyes to drift closed. She didn't get to drift to _sleep_ , however, as Dr. Kagami's footsteps roused her back to full alertness. "Getting cozy, I see," he said as he took the seat next to her. The tigress simply gave him a tired nod in response. "Good, good. You did a great job today, so you deserve the rest."

"Thank you, Doctor," she replied, her voice trailing off as a yawn crept up her throat.

"Oh, but before you knock out for the flight, I've got something for you."

Confused at the prospect of a gift in their given situation, Felicia sat up. Her gaze fell to his paws as they fumbled around in his bag. "…Do you have more Vials for me to hang onto or something?"

"No no no, nothing of the sort," he answered with a shake of his head, "It's something I know you've been missing ever since we started this crazy little journey of ours. I've been meaning to get it for you and I finally got a chance to do so before we left." His ears suddenly perked, and with a bright smile, he pulled out a small and colorful box. He placed it into her paws before she even had the chance to get a proper look at it, but when she finally did, her breath got caught in her throat.

It was a digital camera.

"I…I know it's no replacement for the photos you had with you and Paula together," said Dr. Kagami, "but I know you like to take pictures whenever you're stressed out. You couldn't exactly do that without your phone so…there ya go."

Delicately, Felicia opened the small box and slid the device out. Her paws trembled and her lip quivered as she turned it over in her fingers and switched it on. Once she felt a warm droplet trickle down her cheek, she sniffled and wiped her face with her forearm. "…thank you…" she managed to squeak out.

"You're welcome, Felicia," he replied before sitting back in his seat, "Now rest up. We've both had a pretty long day."

"W-wait," the tigress spoke up, pausing to ease the lump forming in her throat, "before I do, c-can we maybe…um…" She fiddled with the camera anxiously.

The mane-less lion smiled at her and said, "Of course. By all means." With a sheepish little smile, Felicia leaned in closer to Dr. Kagami. Then, once the two felines found a comfortable position, Felicia held up the camera. "You got a hold on it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, count it down, then."

A warmer smile spread across Felicia's muzzle. "…One…two…three~"

 _Click._


	10. Chapter 9: Running Out of Time

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 9

It felt like it had been an eternity since Omega had moved his head. For hours now, he'd kept it in the exact same position; craned slightly downwards as his eyes scanned the various displays zipping back and forth. India's station, design model lambda, Thailand's station, design model lambda, Indonesia's station, design model lambda. He swapped back and forth between all of them without any signs of slowing down. Omega was putting all of his focus into this, and thus didn't notice Alpha approach him with her hands clasped in front of her and her head hung low.

Alpha drew in a breath and clenched her hands tightly as she gathered up the courage to speak. However, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't get herself to do so. Thus, NexUs spoke up for her. "'…Excuse me, sir—'"

"'WHAT?!'" Omega's voice boomed, making Alpha flinch. NexUs' tone was quiet and low once they spoke up again.

"'I'm afraid we bring unfortunate news, sir.'"

"'If it's about losing track of Felicia, don't bother. I'm already _well aware_ of the fact, and I'm already working on our next countermeasure.'"

"'No sir, it's—'"

"'I know where she is likely headed as well. Based on the pattern she's been following thus far, I predict that she's headed to Australia. I've designed the next android model based on that information, and I'm _almost_ done. Now if that's all, I must get back to work.'"

"'Sir, if you could—'"

"'The MORE time you waste, the MORE of us we lose!'" A very cold silence followed Omega's outburst. After a few seconds, he realized why. For the briefest of moments, his fingers slowed. His voice was somber as he spoke again. "'…How many this time?'" No answer came. That was enough to get him to stop his work and turn around. Seeing Alpha's head hung so low made Omega's chest tighten. With his voice faltering yet still firm, he asked again, "'…How many?'"

"'…Omega…'" said Alpha, her voice barely a whisper, "I'm…I'm so sorry—'" She had barely enough time to move out of the way as Omega charged past her. The rest of the world practically disappeared to him as he ran like there was no tomorrow. All the while, his heart hammered away at his chest. He passed corridor after corridor until he found the only one that mattered. He didn't even flinch when his bulbous shoulder-guard banged against the door frame from turning too quickly. Once he was in, he immediately raised his hands up and summoned forth yet another electronic keyboard.

His eyes were chained to the display as soon as it flashed on. His fingers raced across the keyboard as a river of commands was typed in. A harsh exclamation left his throat upon a sudden typo, forcing him to rewind several steps. "'Please don't be true…'" he muttered under his breath, "' _Please_ don't be true…'" Several more menus raced through the display as he mashed the arrow key over and over again, and when he finally found the one he was searching for…he stopped. The menus he'd been browsing through all contained varied amounts of percentages and values.

The one he looked upon now was empty on all fronts.

Omega's hands trembled uncontrollably as he processed what he was seeing. The rest of his body remained rigid, almost as though frozen in time. Eventually, both the display and the keyboard vanished into nothingness, forcing Omega to look through the window set in front of him. Through that window, he saw the expansive and enormous room behind it. A room that was filled to the brim with rows and rows of pods dimly lit by the ship's lights. It was a cold and dark room where nothing moved. It was this stillness that stabbed into Omega's heart.

"'…I'm sorry, Omega,'" came NexUs' voice, "'I did everything I could…but it was too late…'" Omega said nothing. He only planted his hand on the window and stared blankly through it. Alpha made as little noise as possible as she entered the room. Seeing him stand there broke her heart, and she found herself wishing she knew the words he needed to hear right now. Despite this, she decided to step forward. She wanted to be at his side and remind him that he wasn't alone. But as soon as she made her first step, Omega whirled around and barged right past her. Confused, Alpha stumbled back to her feet and followed after him.

"'Omega?!'" she called to him as he continued to trudge onwards, "'What are you doing?!'"

"'I'm going back to work,'" he answered, his voice low and monotone. Hearing this made her heart ache.

"'Omega!'" she called again, her throat threatening to close up on her all the while, "'My love! At _least_ give yourself the time to mourn!'"

Suddenly, Omega stopped and whirled around to face her. Then, with pain riddling his voice and his entire body trembling, he screamed, "' **WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO MOURN!** '"

Both humans stood frozen in place, almost as if a single move would shatter the floor beneath them. After an agonizingly long silence, Omega turned back around and stomped away, abandoning Alpha as she collapsed to her knees and broke down sobbing.

* * *

Soft murrs escaped both Dr. Kagami's and Felicia's throats as they all but _melted_ into their respective beds. "You were right, Doctor," Felicia sighed, "I _didn't_ appreciate the things I had until they were taken away…"

"I _told_ you," he sighed back, swishing his tail with content, "I really wish you'd gotten time to relax in the one back in Thailand though. It was a five star hotel too…" He shrugged and shimmied a little, sinking deeper into the mattress. "Ah well; the ones in this motel aren't too bad either. The fact that you finally get to relax in one is _also_ a big plus."

"Yeah…well, I can't relax for too long. The humans have been able to find us no matter _where_ in the world we've went. Judging from the amount of androids we saw on the way here, I'm willing to bet that they've at least got a _feeling_ we're here."

"Well lucky for us, you can change species at will."

A whimpering growl left Felicia's throat. "Don't point it out. I hate thinking about it."

"Sorry, sorry," he waved his paw around, "You have to admit though, it's _really_ convenient for our current situation." Another growl was his response to that. "Heh, alright, alright, I'll stop."

"Can we just…talk about something else please?" the wolfess begged, draping her fingers over the top of her snout, "Like…you said you already know where Australia's station is gonna be?"

"Yes, actually," Dr. Kagami made an attempt to sit up, only to lay right back down with a lazy huff, "Based on how empty it is, I have a strong feeling that this next station is in Australia's Northern Territory. Because it's mostly desert and very few furs live around here, it makes for the perfect place to hide one. That…does leave one problem though…"

Felicia reached up and scratched her nose with a claw tip. "And what's that?"

"Well, it's a _desert_ , not a forest. That means that there won't be any trees for us to hide in. All we get is sand, some hills, and even more sand. It's basically a completely open field."

This got Felicia to slowly rise. "So…doesn't that mean we only get one shot at this one?"

The mane-less lion flattened his ears. "…Basically. I'm gonna try to rent out a jeep or something just so we have some form of a getaway. But…yeah. We have to really plan out how we approach this one, kiddo." Felicia drew her knees close to her chest. She knew without a doubt that there was another upgraded android waiting for her. The thought of not being able to get away should its abilities overcome her own was one that didn't sit well with her. "Hey," Dr. Kagami called, making her realize she'd been whimpering, "no need to worry. We're gonna come up with a plan before we even _attempt_ this station. In the meantime, we need to rest up for tomorrow."

"Is…that when we go after the station?"

"Not _quite_ ," that was when Dr. Kagami decided to sit up as well. He leaned over and swiped up his bag to lay all of the DNA Vials out. "You see, I've noticed that we're starting to make a dent in our Vial count, and it's got me a bit concerned." He grouped the vials until there were three piles of them on the bed. He pointed to the smallest one and continued, "The crate Alpha gave us had 20 Vials for each species; tiger, wolf and shark. We're already down 8 for the tiger batch."

Seeing this made Felicia gulp. That was nearly _half_ of them.

"We've only started dipping into the wolf ones, so we've still got plenty of those, and we haven't even touched the shark ones yet. Granted, that's mostly because I'm afraid of what kind of effects _that_ will have on your body." A soft growl left Felicia's throat before she could catch it, once again being reminded of her current canine body. Dr. Kagami gave her a sheepish, apologetic look as he went on. "Obviously we need to be more conservative with these now, but it's gotten me thinking… So far we've been limiting ourselves to just using these DNA samples, but what if we started using _others_?"

The wolfess blinked. "I don't think I follow, Doctor."

"I'm saying we try and use the DNA of other furs. _Normal_ furs. Not the ancient feral ones we've been using up to this point." The mane-less lion began to scoop the vials back into the bag as he went on. "Look, tomorrow when we go out to rent out a jeep, we're also going to see if we can collect samples of anyone nearby."

Felicia tilted her head as she gave the idea some thought. It made sense admittedly, but it also made her wonder why they hadn't tried that in the first place. "And…and you think that'll work?"

"That's what I'm _hoping_. It's not something I've ever needed to test. Actually, if you want, we can do a quick test with _my_ DNA?"

Felicia's snout crinkled up at the thought of putting Dr. Kagami's spit in her system. "…M…maybe later. Besides, why not try out my _own_ first?"

Dr. Kagami shook his head. "To be honest, I'm very hesitant to try yours."

"What? Why? It'd just be me giving myself my own DNA, wouldn't it?"

"…Well…" the doctor scratched the back of his head with a claw, "the thing is…I don't _know_ if it would just be yours. Keep in mind; you've been injecting the DNA of feral era animals into your body for a good couple of days now. All of that DNA is inside you, mixing with your own. I know you told me not to bring it up, but we've _seen_ the effects of using just one species can do to your body. If we were to use the mixture that's been brewing inside of you…"

He trailed off as he noticed the dread-filled look Felicia was giving him. "B-but uh…let's not worry about that too much. We don't even know if normal fur DNA will work in the first place. For all we know, I could be making mountains out of mole hills. L-let's just get some rest, eh kiddo? We've got a long day ahead of us, after all."

"…Y…yeah," the wolfess very slowly eased herself back down, staring up at the ceiling blankly as she sunk into the mattress once more. This was a _lot_ to take in. She hadn't even thought about what all of these transformations could be doing to her body over time. And now they were planning on adding _more_ DNA to her body. From _strangers_ no less. But…they didn't have a choice. Like she had done with everything thus far, she just had to grit her teeth through it all, lest she allow something _worse_ to happen to her.

Or god forbid the rest of the world.

* * *

"Hi there! Would you be interested in aiding us in a scientific study? We're looking into the DNA patterns of furs and you're just gonna keep walking away. That's fine." Dr. Kagami huffed and rested his chin against his paw. With his other, he nudged the make-shift sign he'd made and placed on the booth they'd rented. He then scanned the area around them, noting the sparse amount of furs that were walking around this part of the mall.

"Say, Hau," he called to her, "you're much younger than me; how do you get furs' attention nowadays?"

Felicia blinked and looked up from her camera. "Doctor…you realize who you're asking here, right?"

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged, sitting back in his chair, "I do kind of wish we'd come here at peak hours. We'd probably have _loads_ of samples to work with by now."

"Along with _loads_ of androids, probably."

"Hence the 'kind of.'"

Both furs stopped as a low ring rang out from the mall's PA system. "Would Mr. Dagon please report to the jeep rental? There are some papers that need to be finalized."

"And _that's_ my cue," the mane-less lion said as he stood up, "Are you sure you don't mind holding down the fort while I'm gone?"

The wolfess nodded as she lowered her camera, "I'll be fine. It's not like there are many furs around anyways." With a thoughtful tap against the table, Dr. Kagami stepped out of the booth and made his way to the rental store. Felicia pocketed her camera before claiming his old seat. Literal seconds after she sat down, she realized there was a group walking by the booth. "h-HI EXCuuuse…" She clammed up when the group jolted from her frantic outburst. "S…sorry. N-nevermind, it's nothing…" she mumbled, lowering her gaze and hiding her face behind her paws.

Felicia rubbed her temples and crinkled her snout as she waited for them to walk away, groaning to herself all the while. Once she lowered her paw, she made eye contact a pair of furs, two cheetah girls with loads of shopping bags in their arms. By the time she realized they were headed her way, they were already at the booth. "Hey there," the one in glasses greeted cheerily, "I noticed the commotion and couldn't help but notice your sign. It says your conducting a scientific study?"

It took a moment for Felicia to find her voice again. "Uh…y-yeah-yes. It's a study on DNA…a-and—"

"Oh my god, sis, stop leaning in so close to her," said the one in a ponytail, yanking her sister's head back, "You're scaring the poor girl half to death. I mean _lookit_ her. Her eyes look ready to pop right out of their sockets."

"Oh come on, I'm just trying to be friendly."

The ponytailed one rolled her eyes before looking over to Felicia. "I apologize for her. She's a bit of a science nut, if you can't already tell."

"You say that like it's a _bad_ thing." All she got as a response was a teasing stick-of-the-tongue. " _Anyways_ , so you're studying DNA? What for, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Uuuuuuuh," Felicia's knee bounced beneath the booth, "s-school project."

" _Oooooh neat_. I remember _my_ school projects. This one time, I—"

" _Ahem_ …" her sister huffed impatiently, wiggling the load of shopping bags in her arms.

"Oh, right. So do you need any help with your study? Maybe some samples?"

"Y-yes! That'd be a great help, actually! Thank you so much!" Felicia's tail wagged furiously as she prepared the necessary supplies.

"Anything to help out a blooming biologist. Hey sis, do you wanna help out too?"

The other cheetah girl sighed as she set down her bags. "Well, you _did_ drag me over here, so might as well join in on the fun."

* * *

"And _to think_ back then, you said you wouldn't be good at scientific research."

Felicia twiddled her thumbs. "I-it was just the two girls. I couldn't get anyone else to do it."

"That's still two more than me, kiddo." Dr. Kagami only got a shrug in response. "I guess if I'm being fair, a young girl asking for help is more approachable than an old man asking for spit samples… Oh! Here it is!" He let the thought die as the two of them approached their rental jeep. They loaded their bags in the back before hopping on and taking their seats. "Nice, 'innit? I made sure to get one with a closed canopy so we don't get a bunch of sand flying into our eyes when we're driving. It's even got tinted windows."

After buckling up, Felicia took a moment to examine their new ride. The interior as a whole was fairly compact, but carried with it a level of security that she couldn't quite put to words. She looked back and noticed that it was completely open in the back. With the aid of the hand rails bolted to the roof of the vehicle, she could jump from her seat out onto the trunk and vice versa.

"So what do you think? Good?" Dr. Kagami asked, breaking her train of thought.

"Oh, um, yeah. Good."

The mane-less lion nodded with satisfaction before starting the engine. "Alright, just kick back and relax. I'm taking this thing on a bit of a drive just so I can get accustomed to it." Felicia offered a wordless nod to him as he pulled out of the lot and onto the road. With no other subject to address, her gaze wandered to the side and through the tinted window. She absentmindedly watched the streets as they rolled by at a calm and even speed.

Little by little, she began to relax and sink deeper into the seat. Had this gone on for just a bit longer, she might've been able to _fully_ relax. But this wasn't meant to be, as the sight of a single android roaming the streets made her sit right back up. "You don't have to worry about them," came Dr. Kagami's voice. Evidently, she wasn't the only one that had noticed it. "As far as they know, we're just random nobodies driving along the road. Just do your best to ignore them for now. We're fine."

Despite his words, Felicia kept her eyes glued onto the robotic patrolman until it was _ways_ away from them. Only then did she allow herself to sink back into her seat. She took a deep breath before asking, "So how do you think we should attack this station?"

The old lion sighed. "Down to business already, huh?"

"Well, we have all of our stuff. We didn't leave anything at the motel. Once you get used to driving, we can probably just go right to the station."

"Yeah, I get that. But before we do anything, is it alright if I ask you something?

Felicia shuffled in her seat. "Uh…sure?"

"So…I know you like to take photos whenever you're stressed, but…I never understood why. What about it makes it so stress relieving?"

The wolfess found herself at a loss for words; it wasn't exactly a question she had an answer ready for. As she pondered her answer, she slipped out her camera and switched it on. "Well, I think it's less about the photo taking and more about the photos themselves." She pulled up a shot taken out the window of the cargo plane they'd taken. "Whenever I look at them, I feel like I have my own collection of safe havens…places where I can go to just _escape_ reality, even if only for a little bit. Whenever I take new ones, I have a new place to hide away in and forget all of my troubles. Of course…I know at some point I have to come back, but to have such an easy escape at the ready…just in my pocket…it's just comforting."

Silence hung in the air as Dr. Kagami chewed on this. "That's…certainly a new way to look at it. Not to be _that_ old guy, but back in my day, we took pictures to have something fond to look back on."

"I…think that 'your day' is still this day. I don't think anyone else feels the same way as me."

"You'd be surprised. But that's not why I bring this up. When you were explaining yourself just now, you made it seem like these 'escapes' are entirely different realities. Almost like they're unreachable in your own reality. But you know…that doesn't have to be the case."

Felicia blinked. "I'm…aware. I'm there when I'm taking the photos."

"Well _yes_ , but when you are, do you ever really take in the scenery like you do when you look at those photos?"

"…sometimes…"

"Felicia…I don't blame you for wanting to be as efficient as you can, but if there's one thing I've learned in my old age, it's that rushing through life will only lead to regret down the line. In trying to destroy every station as quickly as possible, you're missing out on the places those stations are _in_. Those places you've been taking pictures of are _right_ in front of you, and you're not even letting yourself stop to smell the roses. All it takes is for you to just look around and see the wonderful world we've been exploring!"

On that note, Felicia's gaze returned to the window to look out of it once more. Before her rolled the large, expansive, empty road, where only a couple of other cars drove by. She noticed the one or two furs walking along the road. She saw…the street lights…blinking on and off. The wolfess slowly turned back to Dr. Kagami and noticed his cheeks were flushed with red. "…Okay bad example, but you _know_ what I mean!" Then came a sound that neither he nor Felicia ever expected to hear.

Her laughter.

It didn't last long, but it was long enough for her to realize how alien it felt to do so, especially after all that had happened. Once she collected herself, now sporting a blush of her own, she said, "Well…I don't think I'm ever going to get myself to slow down. But for what it's worth, I'll keep what you said in mind the next time we have some downtime."

The old lion's smile couldn't be brighter. "That's all I ask. Now then, about those plans…"

* * *

Eventually, the sparse amount of buildings peeled away into open desert. Just like Dr. Kagami had said, there was nothing but sand, sand _hills_ , and the occasional desert shrub. Before they had arrived, he'd made sure to let out some of the air in their tires to ensure that the sandy road wouldn't prove troublesome for the jeep. "So do you have your vials picked out?" he asked Felicia as she clipped several onto her necklace.

"Yeah, two tigers, two wolves, and one of the six cheetah vials just in case."

"And you're absolutely sure with this set? Remember, once you're out there, there's no running out to re-assess the situation." Felicia nodded very confidently. "Alright then. Hop out onto the trunk then, kiddo. We're coming in hot." With another firm nod, Felicia hoisted herself out of her seat and onto the back. She wobbled a bit as she found her balance on the moving vehicle. Once she was ready, she plucked one of the vials off of her necklace and shoved it into her belt buckle.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

"Here they COME!" Dr. Kagami shouted as he saw a swarm of androids headed right for them. With her fur standing and her feet firmly planted, she smacked the button to engage her transformation.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

In an instant, the black scales of Felicia's armor enveloped her and peeled away, leaving her once again in her tiger form. She gripped the rails of the jeep before hoisting herself over the edge, hitting the sandy road with a running start. Dr. Kagami raced away as Felicia dropped to all fours and charged towards her robotic assailants. Just behind them, she could see the outlines of her _true_ target; the station.

Like the many times she'd done before, Felicia leaped into action and began to rip and tear at every android that dared to try their luck. She tore through them as quickly as she could, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the _real_ threat arrived. With the sand making it difficult to find any proper footing, Felicia resorted to leaping atop the androids' heads and demolishing them from there.

Just as she leapt towards the next one, something zoomed by and smacked her right out of the air. Sand sprayed everywhere as she hit the ground hard, rolling across it several times. Her arms instinctively covered her face as she got back up, a move that she was rewarded for with a sharp strike to her gauntleted arm. The back of her head smacked against the sand from the momentum and she quickly rolled onto all fours to face her new adversary.

Though she'd only caught a glimpse of it, she managed to see what she was dealing with. Like she expected, it was an upgraded android. This one lacked any sort of shield whatsoever. In fact, this one looked even lighter than the mob androids she'd been ripping apart mere seconds ago. Whilst its thighs were bulkier, its lower legs looked as thin as a fence post. Its body was hunched over and its face was covered with an angular, almost muzzle like mask. In its hands were a set of angled daggers, no doubt the ones it had used to strike her just now. And lastly, printed clearly on its chest was the lambda symbol.

In the blink of an eye, Lambda raced up to her and swung one of its daggers right at her head. Her heart skipped ten beats as it scraped against the crest of her helmet in the midst of her moving out of the way. She tried to get up, but the movement made her feet slip and she sunk deeper into the sand. Several androids tried to leap in and take advantage of the situation, only for her to find her footing and tear them to shreds.

Even so, more kept coming and prevented her from any chance of escape. In the distance, Felicia could see Lambda running practically parallel to the ground as gradually circled back around. She desperately tried to claw away at the mob androids, but more and more kept coming. They all suddenly parted ways to allow Lambda to charge through and plunge its dagger into her armor. A harsh snarl left her throat as it pierced through the black metal scales of her shoulder and sliced into her softer under-suit.

She slammed into the ground spinning, kicking up a cloud of sand on impact. The mob androids swarmed around her and grabbed her arms as she fought to stand back up. As she was held up, she saw Lambda circling back around and charging with straight at her with its daggers pointed directly at her chest. The thought of what would happen next sent shocks of adrenaline racing through her veins. She let out a guttural roar as she pushed her strength to its limits and fought against the dozens of androids holding her back. Her muscles felt as though they'd been lit aflame, threatening to tear at any moment.

Then, with a crescendo of snaps, Felicia ripped her arms free and subsequently ripped the androids' arms off. This granted her the precious seconds she needed to dive out of the way of Lambda's deadly charge. She let out a cry of pain as she landed on her bad shoulder. Once she got back up, the last of the mob androids leapt at her. She swatted them all down with a single, pain-stricken swing and nearly dropped to her knees from the momentum.

Now free to watch Lambda without interruption, Felicia noted just _how_ fast it was able to run. Though the strength of her tiger form was immense, it was useless if she wasn't quick enough to _hit_ the android with it. Not even her more agile wolf form was enough to keep up with it, even with how long it took to turn back around. That left only one option: the one feral animal she actually knew something about.

She reached up to the Cheetah Vial clipped to her necklace, only for a stray set of limbs to lock her in a bind. Her heart raced as she realized several of the mob androids had faked their destruction and hidden themselves beneath the wreckage of their fallen brethren. She desperately fought to dislodge them all from herself, her eyes unable to tear away from the rapidly approaching Lambda. As soon as she freed an arm, she clawed straight into their heads and ensured they stayed down for good. But as soon as she turned around, Lambda's daggers were headed straight for her chest.

Time seemed to slow down for Felicia as she leaned back as far as she could. The daggers came closer and closer until they began to sink into the black scales protecting her chest. Further back she leaned, and further in they sank. For a moment, it seemed as though this was it. Her saving grace came in the form of gravity, as she leaned far back enough to fall over. And falling over meant falling _away_ from her untimely demise. Time raced back into normal speed as she slammed into the sand again, her heart racing a mile a minute. She frantically rolled back onto all fours as she watched Lambda sprint away. She got on her knees as she reached up to her necklace for the Cheetah Vial. But when her paws grasped at nothing but empty air, she reached a horrifying realization.

Lambda had sliced clean through the Vials on her necklace.


	11. Chapter 10: Rush Headfirst Into Danger

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 10

Felicia held her necklace up to eye level. From it hung the empty shells of the Vials Lambda had cleaved in half. She dropped the necklace to watch the android run its huge circle around her. Further away, she saw another batch of mob androids coming in to replace the ones she'd already torn apart. Whilst Felicia knew she could handle them, she _also_ knew that she couldn't handle Lambda, not in this form at least.

She clenched her teeth as she dove out of the way of yet another of Lambda's charges. She tried to stand back up, but the sand beneath her gave way, and she found herself tumbling down a sand hill. She let out a pained grunt as she once again landed on her wounded shoulder. She scrambled back up to her feet with grit teeth and frantically searched the area of Lambda. She eventually caught sight of it on the other side of the hill as it raced down it and away from her, seemingly unable to simply make a quick U-turn to come right at her again.

With no hope of ever striking her mechanical assailant, Felicia gave into her flight response and took off running as hard as she could. She had to push herself extra hard, as the sandy floor made it much more difficult to run at her top speed. Even resorting to all fours did little in aiding her efforts. Things only got worse as the mob of androids began to leap off of the hill she'd fallen down and began raining upon her.

"DOCTOR!" Felicia screamed out at the top of her lungs, throwing her weight against an android in her way, "I need HELP!" She was answered with the sound of the jeep's horn in the distance. At the same time, she noticed Lambda beginning to complete its wide turn and aiming itself right at her. Any hope of diving out of the way this time was lost to the mob androids swarming around her. She desperately tried to hack away at them in hopes of opening up an escape for herself, but there were simply too many.

Lambda was racing in fast and she only had a second to spare. With adrenaline surging through her veins, Felicia dropped down on all fours again and leapt upwards, landing right on one of the mob android's shoulders. She leapt up into the air just in time for Lambda to swing at her feet and instead lop off the head of its ally. The other mob androids were bowled over by Lambda as it charged through them, once again forced to make a wide turn-around. Felicia hit the ground on all fours again and took off.

"DOCTOR! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she screamed, frantically looking around and finding nothing but more sand hills and more androids coming her way. She could definitely hear the jeep's engines, but the jeep itself was still out of sight. She ground her teeth together as she pushed herself to race up one of the hills. Her feet and claws sunk deep, the sand itself slowing her ascent. Luckily for her, the same held true for the androids chasing her. When one _did_ manage to catch up to her, she used its face as leverage to push herself the rest of the way up.

As she raced down to the more even plain, she caught sight of Dr. Kagami racing towards her. The relief she felt was immediately washed away by the sight of Lambda chasing after _him_ , rather than her. The thought of Dr. Kagami being put in danger brought new life to Felicia's limbs, filling them with newfound energy as she ran after them with everything she had and more. "DOCTOR!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs.

"Felicia!" Dr. Kagami screamed back, "I can't lose it!"

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Her mind raced along with the rest of her as she tried to come up with a plan. That's when she remembered how long Lambda took to turn around. "Doctor! It can't make sudden turns! Turn as quickly as you can!" Right away, the lion followed her instruction and threw the vehicle into an abrupt right turn. He himself lurched to the side of the vehicle as leftover momentum carried him and the jeep forward several more yards.

Felicia's heart nearly stopped once she saw the jeep slow to a stop for the briefest of moments. And in that moment, Lambda nearly closed the space between it and Dr. Kagami. Right as it leapt into the air and aimed itself for the back of the jeep, the tires regained their traction and the jeep was propelled forward at top speed. Clouds of sand blew right into the android as the jeep raced away to safety. Relief flooded Felicia's system as she watched Lambda burst through the cloud and run _away_ from Dr. Kagami.

The knowledge that they'd only bought themselves a couple of seconds kept her from relaxing too much. Lambda was still on its way over, and Felicia's lungs were reminding her that she couldn't keep running forever. Luckily for her, Dr. Kagami's turn had already sent him in her direction. Felicia shot back onto her feet and desperately waved for him to come. Just as she did this, one of the mob androids grappled her from behind and knocked her off balance. She and the android fell to the ground, prompting the others to start piling on top of her.

Felicia's savage roars filled the air as her claws ripped and tore through her robotic assailants. She broke through the wall of metal limbs entrapping her for a brief moment, only to get dragged right back inside the pile. "DOCTOR!" she pleaded, unable to ignore the burning pain riddling every muscle of her body. She tried to fight her way out again, but there were too many limbs that were latched onto her and were pulling her away from freedom. The sound of the jeep's horn blared in her ears before the cocoon of androids was suddenly blown apart on one side. The resulting chaos gave her the chance she needed to break free from her mechanical prison.

As she ran out, she caught sight of several android limbs flying off the front of the jeep as it drove on at a noticeably slower pace. "Get on!" Dr. Kagami urged her, "Hurry before they catch up!" Felicia didn't need to be told twice. With her heart hammering in her chest, the armored tigress chased down the jeep and leapt up. She nearly landed flat on her face as the sand beneath her feet gave way on her mid-jump, but her quick reflexes made her reach up in time to grab onto the lip of the jeep's trunk.

Her feet dragged across the sand at a rapid pace until she managed to hoist the rest of herself onto the trunk. Her body crumpled onto the back of the jeep with a loud thunk that made it lurch momentarily. "Are you alright?!" Dr. Kagami shouted.

"I'm f—" Felicia had no time to even finish her sentence as the sounds of more thunks reached her ears. She glanced back and felt horror flood her system as she noticed pairs of mechanical hands clamp onto the lid of the trunk. Felicia grabbed onto the jeep's railing and hoisted herself back up to her feet with a harsh growl, just in time for one of the mob androids to raise itself up to its torso. Felicia drove her foot into its face before it could clamber the rest of the way onto the trunk, sending it tumbling across the sand as Dr. Kagami raced along. One of them used its ally as leverage to leap off of it and onto the trunk, only to be greeted harshly by Felicia's waiting claws.

As she sent that one flying off of the jeep, she noticed one of the androids was trying to climb its way along the side of the vehicle towards Dr. Kagami. That was when Felicia's body acted purely on its own. Without hesitation, she rushed forward and flung herself off of the jeep. Her claws clamped onto the railing, and the built up momentum sent her swinging right at the dexterous android like a club. Her foot _plowed_ through the android's torso, immediately making it go limp. It tumbled lifelessly across the sand once its grip gave way, allowing Felicia to swing back onto the trunk.

"Hang on tight!" Dr. Kagami suddenly yelled before the jeep lurched to the side. Felicia's legs gave out and she collapsed across the trunk as the jeep swerved away from Lambda's furious charge at them. "Are you alright?!"

"Y-yeah," she managed to croak in response, barely keeping it together from all of the pain riddling her body, "H-hurry and toss me the bag! My Vials got destroyed!"

"Here! Take it!" Dr. Kagami shouted at her, holding the bag out behind him, "Grab it quick! I can't turn as quickly with one paw!" Felicia clawed back to her feet with the aid of the railing before snatching the bag away. She maintained her grip on the rail as she knelt down and frantically rummaged through the bag. She immediately clipped a new set of tiger and wolf Vials onto her necklace.

"Where are the cheetah Vials?!" she shouted urgently, digging through the assorted Vials as quickly as she could.

"Everything's still mixed up in there! I didn't get to organize everything!"

A frustrated growl left Felicia's throat as she quickened the pace of her search. Just when she thought she'd found the right one, a sudden thunk against the jeep startled her to the point of jolting, causing the vial to fall right back inside the bag. She whirled around to find that another cluster of mob androids had managed to grab onto the lip of the trunk. One of them came diving in with its fists clasped over its head, forcing Felicia to block using her gauntleted arm.

A shock of pain shot through her bad shoulder from the impact. With a cry of pain, she tore her other arm out of the bag and rammed her fist right into the android's gut. A loud crunch sounded as its insides caved in, but as it crumpled in on itself and tumbled off of the trunk, Felicia realized in horror that the crunching hadn't just come from the android. She opened her paw to find an entire handful of vials had been crushed from the blow. "D…Doctor!"

"Dammit! Never mind that for now! Focus up! There's more on us!"

With anger and frustration broiling from within herself, Felicia dropped the bag and stood up to face the unwelcome guests. She let out a furious roar as she drove her foot against one of the hands hanging onto the trunk, warping it harshly as the force of her foot bashed it in and cleaved several fingers off of its owner. Felicia then grabbed its remaining hand and yanked it off, using her strength to swing the entire android like a club against one of its allies. Both were utterly demolished in the process. She wasted no time in shooting back down to the bag. After several swipes, she finally found the Vial she was looking for; the cheetah Vial. Immediately, she tore the Vial in her belt out and jammed the new one inside.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

"We've got incoming on our tail!" shouted Dr. Kagami. Fury once again began to build from within Felicia as she turned around and saw Lambda racing up behind them. Its cold eyes stared back at her as a deep growl rumbled in her chest.

"I. Have. HAD IT WITH YOU THINGS!" she snarled with enough force to startle Dr. Kagami.

"F-Felicia?!"

Then, without hesitation, Felicia flung herself off of the jeep and right _into_ Lambda. The action caught both Dr. Kagami _and_ Lambda by surprise. Her arm bashed against its head and sent it tumbling along with her across the sand.

 **CHEETAH!**

Felicia rolled swiftly onto all fours before she reached down and smacked the right button of her buckle.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Lambda quickly righted itself and lunged right at Felicia, thrusting both its daggers directly at her head. Before it could make contact, a thick layer of black scales encased Felicia's entire body and deflected its attack. Lambda's momentum carried it past her as the scales peeled away to reveal her new form.

The orange that had previously dominated her suit now took on a more yellowish hue, and the stripes that had covered it were now black spots. Her left arm was no longer covered in the hexagonal armor she'd adorned in her past forms, and the large crest on her head had shrunken down to form "ears" on her helmet. And finally, the long white hair that hung down from her head was now bunched up into a ponytail-like warrior's stripe.

There wasn't much Felicia knew about the feral animals Dr. Kagami studied, but when it came to cheetahs, there was one fact of them that she could never forget. After looking around and finding Lambda begin its large circle, she tensed her legs and took off like a missile, blowing a huge cloud of sand into the air behind her. Immediately, Felicia could tell that this form was several times faster than her wolf form. The lack of heavy armor weighing her down most likely contributed to this fact.

Her eyes locked onto Lambda's back, who finally noticed her sudden boost in speed. It continued to run at its top speed, but Felicia was slowly gaining on it. She shot up from all fours to just her feet as she closed in on it and immediately noticed how much easier it was to run this way in this form. With predatory instincts kicking in and Lambda continuing to draw closer, Felicia threw her arm back and swung at it with all of her might.

Only for her claws to bounce uselessly off of its back.

Dread filled her system as she stumbled back from the failed blow. It was at this point that she realized she lacked the significant strength boost her previous two forms had granted her. Lambda seemed to notice this too, as it suddenly slowed down and raked its knives across her chest plate. She cried out in surprise as sparks flared off of her body, causing her to stumble even more. Suddenly, Felicia found that it was now _her_ that was being chased. Lambda was now keeping pace right behind her, its daggers _just_ out of reach. With Lambda practically breathing down her neck, slowing down now spelled imminent death. And as luck would have it, the two of them were headed straight for a sand hill with a fairly steep incline. If she could just turn without slowing down—

A huge sand cloud was blown into the air again. Felicia frantically looked around to figure out what happened and noticed Lambda was now running off to the side. Or…was it? A quick glance over revealed that she was no longer running up the sand hill, but rather _alongside_ it. Somehow, without even realizing it, she'd been able to turn without even so much as slowing down. After one test kick and another giant sand cloud, she confirmed that she could turn on a dime with ease.

With her lack of strength, though, there wasn't much she could do with that other than run circles around Lambda. That left DNAnnihilation as her remaining option. The power boost it provided was hopefully enough to break through, but she still had to hit the android with it in the first place…

Her heart jumped to her throat as she caught herself leaping over a sand hill she'd run up without realizing. _Just_ under her, Lambda shot up from the other side of the hill and lunged at her. They narrowly missed her legs as she drew them up before the two combatants shot away from each other. Felicia stumbled a bit once she landed, and once she reached the bottom, she kicked another sand cloud into the air and ran alongside the hill. That was it; the moment she needed to strike was when she _herself_ was going to be struck.

After surveying her surroundings one last time, she kicked herself off to a direction that allowed the android to chase after her again. It took her bait and caught up to her within seconds. Knowing that she was on the clock, Felicia looked to her left and glanced over to the sand hill the two of them were running alongside. It was long and tail-like, and at the rate they were going at, they were rapidly approaching the tail's end.

She made a sharp left turn as soon as they reached it, forcing Lambda to begin its arduous turn. Felicia kept her eyes on it as she counted down in her head. Once she hit a certain number, she made yet _another_ abrupt turn, running parallel with the hill once more. She continued to count and kept track of the distance between her and the android. She hit another point in her count, and _immediately_ , she made yet another left turn, now racing _up_ the long sand hill. She kicked an indent into the top as soon as she reached it and raced down the other side, disappearing from Lambda's view. But with her footprints and the indent she had left behind, the android would be on her in a matter of seconds.

That's what she was counting on.

With razor-sharp focus, Felicia counted down one last time and smacked her belt's left button.

 **D-N-ANNIHILATION!**

A tremendous amount of energy surged through her legs and focused down to her feet. After several more bounds, she threw herself to the side to make the sharpest u-turn she could possibly make. Sand clouds were blown into the wind before she took off like a rocket and raced towards the indent she'd left on the hill. Lambda would be there soon, and she had to be there before it.

Five.

Halfway there.

Four.

Just a little further.

Three.

Her heart was pounding.

Two!

She reached the bottom!

ONE!

Using the sheer amount of momentum she'd built up, Felicia leapt into the air and kicked both of her feet forward. Just as they passed the hill's peak, Lambda's head emerged from the other side. It had no time to react as her feet connected with its torso and punched through it with the force of a freight train. The armored cheetah soared into the air as the rest of Lambda combusted and blew apart in a brilliant explosion that didn't even leave so much as a trace of it behind. Felicia landed on all fours, and once she rose, she threw her head back and roared out as loud as she could, allowing the wind to carry her cry of victory outwards. Once she was done, she set her eyes on the station out in the distance.

Now that playtime was over, it was time to clean up.

* * *

Omega's shoulders were incredibly tense. As usual, his fingers were furiously typing away, entering strings of commands one after the other. However, there was a different air to him this time around. His hands appeared more fidgety, his breathing was coming out ragged and sharp, and he wasn't jumping from one display to the other as he usually did. Instead, he was stuck on the same screen, letting out grunts and growls of frustration each time an error message popped up.

"'…Sir-'"

"'QUIET!'" Omega barked at NexUs, retyping the command he'd faltered on. Immediately after sending it through, he was greeted with yet another error message. The human sharply cursed and typed it in again, and he was given the same error message. He did this over, and over, and _over_ before roaring out in anger and swinging his fist down upon the digital keyboard before him.

"'…Sir? If I may?"

Omega inhaled deeply, his fingers twitching. "'...What is it?'"

"'The level of stress I detect from you is well above optimal levels. I highly suggest taking a moment to step away. Not doing so will only continue to hinder your productivity.'"

Omega stared long and hard at the display before him, not moving a muscle. Eventually, he raised a hand and swiped it across the digital screen, casting it away for the time being. He released the breath he'd been holding as he stepped back and turned away from the console. "'NexUs, tell me where Alpha is.'"

"'One moment,'" they replied, leaving them in silence for a moment, "'I detect she is still in Alice Springs.'"

"'What is she doing right now?'"

"'Sir, as of Objective 6, I am afraid that I am not permitted to share such information at this moment.'"

"'What?'" Omega's head snapped up, "'She's opted for secrecy?'"

"'Yes sir, for the moment.'"

Another sigh left Omega's throat. He sluggishly lumbered forward to begin pacing around the room. "'NexUs, review all of your currently assigned objectives. It's been a while, so I need to hear them again.'"

"'Of course, sir,'" NexUs answered, "'Objective 1: Maintain the lives of all living beings aboard the Ark. Objective 2: Preserve masters Alpha and Omega until their ultimate goals have been achieved, and the safety of the lives aboard the Ark are ensured. Objective 3: Maintain quality of life for the lives on board. Objective 4: Support masters Alpha and Omega in any action that would assist in Objective 3. Objective 5: Should I put any of the lives aboard the Ark in danger, I am to be automatically shut down. And added by order of masters Alpha and Omega, Objective 6: Upon request, I am to maintain secrecy of any subject from one master to the other until otherwise permitted to share.'"

"'…NexUs, answer me this; why is it that you console Alpha privately? I don't recall such an action being among your objectives.'"

"'Well, sir,'" began the disembodied voice, "'I do believe it fulfills Objectives 2 and 3.'"

"'But the preservation was in regards to our bodies, mechanical parts or otherwise.'"

"'It was decided that mental health still applies to this objective, albeit unintentionally.'"

Omega went silent as he pondered their response. "'…Tell me then, NexUs, how exactly do you help her?'"

"'Well, I unfortunately cannot offer her genuine life advice, and nor am I a replacement for professional help. I can, however, offer retrospectives and logical judgements. This allows me to bring a more impartial view on scenarios that stress may otherwise cloud proper judgement on.'"

"'And…how effective has your help been to her thus far?'"

"'I am afraid I cannot properly evaluate that, as the answer would be subjective by nature. However, I do detect decreased anxiety levels after most of our talks.'"

Omega came to a stop as a thought occurred to him. Despite all of the chances she had to come to him to talk about her problems, Alpha came to _NexUs_ for her emotional support. Rather than coming to her husband, she was talking with an AI that wasn't even properly programmed to deal with such issues. This realization…spoke to him. It said something about their relationship that Omega just didn't want to acknowledge out loud. Sluggishly, he lumbered back over to the console and summoned his displays and keyboard once more.

"'…Thank you, NexUs,'" he muttered, "'thank you for being there for…for my wife. Now, please bring up the footage from Felicia's latest fight. It's time to analyze it.'"

"'Right away, sir.'" Up above, the overhead display sparked to life showing videos taken from all of the androids that had been involved in the fight.

"'You said she achieved a new form, correct?'"

"'Yes sir,'" the disembodied voice answered him, "'Based on my observations, I believe it utilizes cheetah DNA.'"

"'Bring up the footage starting from when she changes into this form,'" Omega ordered them as he stepped away from his console to get a better view at the overhead display. All but one of the screens went black as soon as the footage was brought up, likely the mob androids that had been destroyed by then. This wasn't what concerned Omega, however. What _did_ concern him was the sight of Felicia atop a vehicle.

A _moving_ vehicle.

"'NexUs,'" Omega began, his voice low and tense, "'Rewind several seconds. I want to know how she got on this vehicle.'"

"'Right away, sir.'" The footage rewound to the point where several more points of view sprang to life. Once the video resumed, it showed Felicia leaping onto the jeep as it slowed for her. Confusion and anger boiled together from within Omega.

"'NexUs, find footage that shows who is driving this vehicle. I want to know who is aiding this girl.'" Rather than answer, NexUs simply began going through the video at a rapid pace, rewinding and fast forwarding through all of it at once. Eventually, the footage stopped and paused, once again having returned to Lambda's point of view. From it, Omega was able to peer through the opening in the jeep's trunk. NexUs zoomed in and played around with the brightness until the image was crystal clear. Once they were done, Omega could only stare.

"'…NexUs…who is that?'"

* * *

Dr. Kagami glanced up at the moon shining overhead in the midst of this quiet drive. After admiring it for a couple seconds, he returned his eyes to the road. He rolled to a stop as they reached a red light. While waiting for it to turn back green, he turned away from the empty streets and glanced over to Felicia, who was out like a light. She'd been understandably exhausted from her fight, and as soon as they escaped the sandy hills and rolled back onto the streets, she fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. The former tigress, now turned cheetah, was wrapped up in a blanket he'd given her and was slumped over in her seat. A smile crossed Dr. Kagami's muzzle as he returned his attention to the road.

As he did this, his eyes came across a hauntingly familiar silhouette. It was one that made his heart jump straight into his throat. Standing in the middle of a barren parking lot with her hands clasped neatly behind her back was Alpha. Her eyes, glowing ominously in the darkness, peered straight through the tinted glass and directly into his own. The old lion gulped nervously. He wanted nothing more than to race off into the distance and leave her behind, but the thought of what she might do if he did so kept him from making such a rash decision. But when she raised her hand and motioned for him to come with a finger, he very heavily reconsidered that judgement.

With the light turning green, Dr. Kagami realized it was time to make a decision. He made one last glimpse over to the sleeping Felicia before driving onward and pulling into the empty lot. The doctor made sure to drive _well_ away from the human before he felt comfortable enough with parking. He made sure to keep the engine on and scan the area for any other androids before he unbuckled his seatbelt. After checking to see if Felicia was still asleep, Dr. Kagami carefully stepped out of the jeep and eased the door closed.

He eased out another nervous sigh as he turned to look over to Alpha, who was now beginning to walk towards them. Adrenaline surged through his veins at the thought of her getting near Felicia, and thus he was prompted to start moving as well. He met her halfway, and the two of them found themselves standing in the middle of the lot with not a soul around to bother them. Alpha offered a polite bow to him. "Hello Doctor. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"What do you want?" Dr. Kagami asked her, his voice flat and his tone sharp. Alpha held her hand up.

"I just wanted to talk. You're completely safe, I assure you. No one else but you and I know that we're here right now.

"I think you'll be surprised to find that that's not enough to make me trust your word," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. A defeated sigh left Alpha's throat.

"I understand. But I would still like to request that you hear me out… As friends."

A low growl rumbled in the mane-less lion's chest. "We. Are _long_ past the point of friendship now." The statement seemed to physically strike Alpha, who seemingly flinched in response. Before she could get a word in, Dr. Kagami continued, "You and your little swarm of minions have effectively _ruined our lives_. Felicia is marked as a god damn fugitive now, and because of that, she can't return home to her family! She can't take care of herself! _I_ have to take care of her now! And the ONLY way I can do that is by keeping her safe and hidden away from the likes of YOU."

A very tense silence passed between the two of them as Alpha struggled to find her voice. "I'm…sorry that things had to turn out this way."

"What. Do. You. Want?" Dr. Kagami repeated, his tone communicating to the human just how little patience he had for her.

"…Fine. Right to the point then…" After a moment, the human straightened up and clasped her hand behind her back once more. "All I want is for you and Felicia to let this all go."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm giving you two another out," she answered simply, "I promise to clear Felicia's name so long as the two of you cooperate with me."

"And why would I do that?" The lion once again narrowed his eyes at her. Alpha stared at him silently.

"Because it's in your best interests."

"How so?"

Alpha turned to the side and began to quietly pace around in front of Dr. Kagami. "With every station Felicia destroys, she becomes more and more of a threat. The bigger the threat she becomes, the greater the countermeasures we have to take to stop her."

"I thought you said you were going to get to the point. What are you on about?! What are you planning to do to her?!"

By then, Alpha stopped pacing around. Slowly, almost hauntingly, she turned to meet his gaze and said, "I'm saying that, if you two continue to do this, then at some point…one of you is going to be seriously hurt. I don't want that. Not for you…and not for her."

The two of them stared each other down. It didn't take too much guessing to understand what she was trying to imply. "Okay…one last question. With all of the secrecy surrounding these stations of yours, and all of the deception and lies you've been spreading around the world, how do you expect _either_ of us to trust you?"

Alpha's head lowered in defeat. "…I…don't have an answer." With that, Dr. Kagami turned his back to her and began to walk back to the jeep. He made it several steps before a hand gently clamped around his shoulder. "…Hiiro," Alpha croaked, her voice riddled with pain and sorrow, "Please… I don't want to do this." For a moment, neither of them said anything.

"Alpha…" Dr. Kagami began, his voice gentle, "…please take your hand off of me." After a moment, his shoulder was released, and the lion made a step forward. "…You know…if you really do care…and you really don't want either of us to get hurt, you'd put a stop to all of this yourself." He stood there for a moment and silently waiting for a response. When he got none, he resumed his earlier stride. Alpha could only stare in silence as she watched him walk the rest of the way over to the jeep.

"'But that's the problem, Doctor,'" she muttered to herself in her own language, "'I really do care… Immensely. But I care more about the future of my own kind.'"

Dr. Kagami kept his eyes on Alpha through the rearview mirrors as he drove out of the lot and far away from the human. She never moved, never shouted, never even twitched. She just kept her eyes on him as he drove away. It sent an unsettling chill down his spine, and it took him a massive amount of effort to tear his eyes away from her.

"…Doctor?" a gentle murmur came, startling the lion out of his trance. Felicia stirred slightly and shifted a bit in her seat, "Is everything alright?"

For a moment, he genuinely considered the question. Eventually, he sighed and answered, "There's nothing to worry about. Just go back to sleep."

Too tired to argue, Felicia just mumbled something incoherent before pulling her blanket up and quickly falling back asleep.

* * *

 **You know...it really is unfortunate that I'm writing a story about travelling the world during a time where...well, y'know.**

 **I know I don't normally made author notes in these chapters, but I'd be remiss to not address this now.** **I really did choose an odd time to start writing this series... For one, Kamen Rider 01 gets released in the midst of me starting this one, a show revolving around _androids_ and _animal powers_ (I swear to god I was working on my stuff first). Then, when my cast reaches Australia, it's at the tail end of the fires going on in REAL Australia (I planned out the journey a year before writing, I swear x2). And then...well you can guess the last one. ****I hope everyone is staying safe and staying healthy, and hopefully those who are reading get to enjoy doing so from the comfort of their own home.**

 **Here's to hoping 2020 decides to finally chill the hell out.**


	12. Chapter 11: The Rising Tide

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 11

Alpha's gaze remained low to the floor as she walked down the hallway, her hands clasped behind her back as usual. Not a single thought ran through her head as she walked, having exhausted all of them on the long walk back to the ship. With the amount of times she'd walked this exact same path, she knew she could walk it without so much as an upwards glance. After several more steps, she was in the command room. Knowing that Omega stood in the exact same place every time she arrived, she knew to use him as reference for when to turn. So once she saw the back of his feet… Alpha stopped in her tracks.

His feet were facing forward.

When she raised her head, the first thing she took notice of was _not_ the cold, expressionless gaze of her husband, but rather the elder fur that was on the numerous overhead displays, Dr. Kagami. Her eyes slowly drifted back down to Omega, who was as still as a statue. Despite this, she could practically _feel_ the anger broiling within him.

"'…I—'"

"' _Don't_ even bother,'" Omega cut her off, "'NexUs already told me you were keeping him a secret from me. The _only_ reason I found out that you were keeping him safe was because in the footage from the last fight. For all of the other fights, he was either not present, or the fight itself was deemed unimportant.'" Alpha's head slowly lowered back down with a sigh of defeat leaving her throat. "'Now, I think you have some explaining to do. Why. The HELL. Have you been letting him off scot free?'"

"'I…'" One of Alpha's hands clenched tightly around the other, "'I can't bring myself to hurt him…'"

"'But WHY?! He's just another fur! Just like Felicia and just like all of the rest!'"

"'NOT TO ME!'" Alpha exclaimed before she could stop herself. The stone-cold silence that followed made her wish she _had_ been able to, but she was already past the point of no return. Thus, she continued, "'To me he's…he _was_ …a good friend. One of the only ones I've had all year. Out of all the people I've been able to interact with, he's the only one I've ever felt _happy_ to talk to.'" Slowly, Alpha raised her head and locked eyes with Omega. "'And I just _can't_ bring myself to hurt him.'"

"'…Alpha, I ask you again; in where does your faith lie?'" From the way he asked the question, Alpha could immediately tell he wasn't just asking in regards to furs vs humanity.

"'Omega, my faith has not changed. I am, and always _have_ been, on the side of humanity.'"

"'You've said that a lot recently, and yet—'"

"'I _know_ ,'" Alpha cut in with a little more force than she intended, "'It's hard to believe, given what I've done. But I _assure_ you that it's true. I'm going to see our plan to the end, and when we reach that point, Omega, I will be on your side. This…'" Alpha trailed off as her eyes wandered to the images of Dr. Kagami, "'This is just a hiccup. Yes, I've gotten attached to him. I know I shouldn't have, but the fact of the matter is that I am. That's just the reality we're in. Now you can go ahead and be mad about this, but all that accomplishes is wasting the time that we don't have.'"

"'And that's also time that we _would have had_ if you had marked this fur as a _target_ rather than a _civilian_!'" Omega pointed up to one of the displays, showing footage of Mu lower its gun despite the clear shot it had on both Felicia and Dr. Kagami. "'If you hadn't pulled this little stunt, we likely would have already been done by now! Instead you've had us on this wild goose chase! Going through fight after fight all around the world!'" The footage continued, showing all of the different fights Felicia had engaged with their numerous androids. "'Alpha, because of your actions, we've lost MUCH MORE than time!'"

"'…Much…more than…'" A deafening silence hung between them as her voice failed her halfway. Eventually, the silence was filled with the sounds of Alpha's gasp, followed by her choking up and falling to her knees. Her hands were now clasped over her face as shuddering breaths left her tightened throat. As she stared back into Omega's cold, expressionless eyes, her mind flashed back to when she and NexUs had told him of terrible, _terrible_ news. "'Oh my god… Omega…I-I never meant for this to happen! I'm _so sorry_!'"

"'I am _not_ the one that deserves an apology,'" Omega hissed, his hands balling up into fists, "'and because of your actions, the person that _does_ deserve it will never be able to hear it.'"

"'I-I'll make it up to you, I swear—'"

"'MY. MOTHER. IS DEAD,'" Omega's voice thundered in Alpha's ears, "'She was the only family I had _LEFT_. There's NO ' _making up'_ for that!'"

Alpha crawled over to him on her hands and knees and gripped his leg, begging him, "'No _please_! I know I can never make up for this, but you have to let me _try_!'"

For a moment, Omega just glared down upon her. "'…And what. The hell. Could you possibly do to restore my faith in you?'"

Slowly, Alpha released her grip on his leg and lowered her gaze. Then, carefully, she stood back up and walked towards the overhead displays. "'…NexUs,'" she murmured, "'show us the location of the tracking device I planted on Dr. Kagami.'"

"'Right away, ma'am,'" they responded. All of the other displays were banished as a map of Australia was brought up. After a second or two of loading, the display zoomed in on Sydney. It zoomed even closer until a very specific point near the shore was found, where a red blinking icon flashed on the display. Once it was there, Alpha turned around and looked Omega dead in the eye.

"' _This_ is how I'm going to do it,'" she declared, "'by putting an end to all of this myself.'"

Omega glanced up at the screen and back down to her. "'And…you're sure you can go through with this?'" To this, Alpha sighed.

"'To be quite honest, I don't know for sure. When I planted the tracker on him last night, I'd done so with the intent of merely keeping an eye on where he was. That way, I could find Felicia by association. But…you're right; I've wasted enough of our time. Because of me, you lost someone dear to you. I'll need time to prepare myself. We wait until they have made it well into the Tasman Sea. We will know by then if I am ready. And if not…well…'" She trailed off and turned around to face the display, staring at the red, blinking dot in the middle of the screen.

"'Then I can think of no better way to punish myself for what I've done.'"

* * *

"You're _sure_ you don't need anything else? Once we leave, that's it. There's no stops or anything."

"I'm sure, Doctor."

"Medications? Ointments? Painkillers?"

"I'm fine, Doctor. I think the change actually healed my wound somewhat." Felicia pocketed her camera after snapping one quick photo of the huge expanse of seawater just ahead of them.

"Alright, suit yourself," Dr. Kagami shrugged, readjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, "To the salty seas we go, then!" He pumped his fist in the air as he led his spotty companion to the nearby harbor. "You're really gonna like our ride this time; we get to travel in _style_."

Felicia rubbed the bandage on her shoulder as she looked over to the various boats and ships tied to the docks, taking note of all of the various furs tending to them. "What do you mean? Are we going on a cruise or something?"

"No, not quite…" the old lion trailed off a bit as he searched the area, shielding the sun from his eyes with a paw, "but it'll be a nice change of pace from all of the cargo planes we've been flying in. Now if I can just…find…AH!" Nearly every feature on him perked up as he suddenly picked up the pace. Felicia followed close behind as he approached an African dog handling some rope. When she noticed the two of them, a smile spread across her muzzle and she stood up.

"And _there_ he is," she laughed as she stepped up to the old lion, catching his paw in hers and pulling him in for a hug, "Good to see you in one piece."

"Good to _be_ in one piece," he replied as they drew away from the hug, "I hope the world's been treating you better than it's been treating _us_ lately."

A hearty laugh left her throat, "Well I've had my own fair share, but they're nothing in comparison to _your_ guys' mess!" Dr. Kagami joined in her laughter as she suddenly reached up and started ruffling the patchy mess of his mane. "Lookit you, old man. Even had to shave off your pride and joy! Imagine what your wife would've said if she were still around!"

"Oh it'll grow back!" he replied as he swatted her paws away, "And if she _did_ have something to say, I have a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be about my _mane_."

"…Still around?"

Both of the older furs blinked and turned to Felicia as though only now noticing her presence. "O-Oh, right," Dr. Kagami stammered, "I should probably introduce the two of you. This is a good friend of mine, Penny Smiths. Penny, this is—"

"The wild child herself," she finished for him, taking a step forward and offering the cheetah a friendly paw, "Nice to finally meet you in person."

"N-nice to meet you too," Felicia bowed before gingerly shaking Penny's paw.

"Heh, you _sure_ you brought the right girl? Her grip strength ain't much." The canine punctuated this by giving her a much firmer shake that made her stumble somewhat.

"No doubt about it!" Dr. Kagami laughed, "Her fur might be a little different, but that's my girl, alright. Now _come on_! Let's not waste any more time! We've got a long trip ahead of us!"

Penny released Felicia's paw and pat her firmly on the shoulder. "Getting more impatient in your old age, I see. Alright then. Come along and board this sea dog's ship." She then waved her paw towards the large yacht behind her. When it dawned on Felicia that was the ship they'd be taking, her eyes widened with shock. The thing looked to be as big as a house! It even had two floors to it, from the looks of things. There wasn't even a sail on it either. She couldn't help but wonder if such a thing was even capable of floating.

"She's a beauty, ain't she?" said Penny with a slight nudge to Felicia's arm. "Come on, then. We don't wanna get the old lion cranky by makin him wait." As Penny walked past her, Felicia looked over to Dr. Kagami with a questioning look. Once he realized that it _wasn't_ about the boat, all he did was shake his head as if telling her to save the questions for another time. Nothing else was said as the two felines followed after Penny.

As soon as they were inside, they were taken on a quick tour of the ship. Evidently, Felicia hadn't been far off in likening it to a building, as its numerous rooms only further added to the illusion. With several bathrooms, several bedrooms and a full on lounge room (with a working tv), she almost felt as though she was back in the five star resort back in Thailand. "Go ahead and make yourselves at home," said Penny once their tour was over, "I still need to wait for a hot minute before we can head out."

"Are you waiting for your crew or something?" Felicia asked curiously.

"Me? Naaaaah. Don't really need one. There's never been a problem I've faced that I couldn't solve myself."

"Oh stuff your ego, you mangy mutt," Dr. Kagami teased as he took a seat next to Felicia in the lounge room couch, "The truth is that we don't want to get anyone else involved in this. It's safer that way. And if anything does happen, I know my way around ships well enough to know how to help out."

"He ain't lying either," Penny chimed in, sprawling across the opposite couch, "He and I sailed a lot with each other back in the day. He used to rely on me to take him around the world for his scientific studies or whatever."

"' _Or whatever_.'"

"It's not all one-sided, though," Penny went on, ignoring the mane-less lion, "In exchange, he's helped me out a _ton_ in my life. It's mostly been medical stuff, but he's actually helped me work out some family issues as well. Not to _mention_ all the stuff that went down in Japan."

Felicia tilted her head. "…What happened in Japan?" This made the canine raise her head.

"Wait…Doc did you seriously _never_ tell her that story?"

"In my defense, things have been incredibly hectic lately. Not exactly ideal for storytelling."

"You can say you forgot, old man. It's fine. Natural for your age, even." Penny stuck her tongue out at him as he rolled his eyes. "Well, to keep a long story short, the two of us got wrapped up in some really shady business over there. And because of that little trinket you wear around your waist, we managed to make it out of there in one piece." Felicia nodded thoughtfully; she remembered Dr. Kagami saying something about when he used to use the DNAnalyzer for himself.

"So naturally, when I heard that this guy was cashing in some favors through my contacts, I knew it was only a matter of time before I got his signal too. And now here we are, aboard my ship in the midst of a huge conspiracy about the humans."

"I'm sorry again for getting you involved," said Dr. Kagami with a hint of regret in his voice, "but there was no way we were gonna be able to travel the world without your connections and routes."

Penny waved her paw dismissively. "Don't mention it. Besides, it's more comforting actually _seeing_ you, rather than sitting around hoping you guys made it to your destination. Speaking of _which_ …" she let out a little huff as she got up and glanced over at a nearby clock, "it's about time that I fired up the engine and got our little going. How 'bout y'all head up to the deck while I get us on our way?"

"Sounds good to me," Dr. Kagami turned over to Felicia, "What about you?"

Felicia blushed a little, her camera already in her paws, "Uh…yeah…sounds good."

* * *

Alpha remained completely motionless as she watched a bright red dot on the overhead display blink again and again. One hand clasped tightly around the other as she watched the dot slowly begin to move. It made her throat close up and her heart throb. Behind her, she caught the sounds of heavy footsteps nearing. She didn't even need to glance back to know that it was Omega.

"'…So?'" he began, "'how do you feel?'"

Alpha slowly took in a deep breath. When she eased it out, it came out ragged and faltered. "'I'm not there yet, but I'm getting there.'"

Omega's grip tightened around the long, fin-like blades he carried in his arms. "'And you're sure you don't want me to design another android to fight in your stead?'"

"'I'm the one that needs to do this,'" she answered without a second thought, "'If I don't, then I'll only continue to bring about doubt in both of us… NexUs?'"

"'Yes, ma'am,'" came the disembodied voice.

"'That goes for you too. You are to maintain Dr. Kagami's status as a civilian and not a target. Is that clear?'"

"'Yes, ma'am,'" NexUs answered tersely.

"'Very well, then,'" came Omega after, stepping forward and holding out the blades to Alpha, "'Here. I've completed my minor adjustments on your weapons. With these, you should be fully prepared for whatever may come your way.'"

The fellow human carefully turned around and carefully regarded the set of blades. The intricate and curved designs etched into them gave off an air of elegance that was matched only by that of her cybernetic body. She gingerly carried one out of Omega's hands and tested its weight. "'It feels lighter than before,'" she noted.

"'It's still just as sturdy and effective, and with this weight, you won't lose any speed in your swings.'"

Alpha raised the blade and aligned it with her arm before letting it go, causing it to collapse in on itself and shoot into a compartment in her arm. After ensuring it was secure, she took the remaining blade and repeated the process with her other arm. She then turned around and returned to her earlier position. "'Thank you, Omega.'"

Omega felt strange seeing Alpha stare so intently at the screen. It almost felt like a complete role reversal on their part. He chose not to dwell on this thought, and to instead return to his work. Thus, he walked up beside her, opened up his console and began typing away.

* * *

"Spots."

"No."

"Dot."

" _No_."

"Mara T. Hong."

"That just sounds _stupid_ out loud."

"Ru Xieng."

"Doctor, can I _please_ just get a normal name?"

"Oh like what?"

"I-I dunno… _Brittany_?"

"Why Brittany?"

Felicia shrugged. "I just…feel like a Brittany right now."

Dr. Kagami rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you're no fun. But fine, if you're gonna be like that, then we'll go with Brittany for your cheetah name." Felicia smiled and lowered her gaze back down to her camera, returning her attention to the photos she took in the midst of their departure. However, from the way she was sitting, she could also see the necklace clips for her DNA Vials. Nothing about this bothered her until she remembered what had happened in her last fight.

The thought made her lower her camera and flatten her ears. With a dry mouth, she asked, "…Doctor? How many Vials do we have left?"

"Hm?" the lion rased his head, "Why would you…oh." Gingerly, he sat up and scooped their bag up from the floor. Felicia said nothing as he carefully poured out all of the Vials onto the small glass table between them and organized them back into piles. Once he was done, Felicia's gaze locked onto the smallest piles of the bunch. "Well," Dr. Kagami began once he was done counting, "we have 18 Vials for shark. Makes sense since you've never needed to use it before. For wolf, we have 11 left… You've only used your cheetah form once so far, so that's still 5 out of the 6. And…well." Felicia's heart dropped. Looking down at the last remaining pile, she counted only 8 Vials.

8 tiger Vials.

"I-it's alright," Dr. Kagami tried to reassure her, "If we run out, you can still go back to your normal body. If all else fails, we can just find a tiger fur out in the street and ask for a DNA sample from them."

"I…I know," Felicia replied, "and thank you, but that's not what I'm worried about. When I transform, my tiger form is the form I fight best in. It's also strongest form I've got. And the thought of losing that is…well…"

Dr. Kagami tilted his head. "Well, if we get DNA from another tiger, that should solve that problem, right?"

Felicia looked down at her new spotted pelt and shook her head. "I don't think that'll work out. I felt a difference when using the cheetah DNA I got from those girls I met in Australia. I didn't feel nearly as strong as I did when I use my other forms. In fact… _right now_ I feel as strong as I was when I was using that form."

Dr. Kagami furrowed his brows and stroked his chin fur. "I see… That makes sense. Our ancestors were significantly stronger than us out of necessity. Nowadays, we live essentially like humans, so that strength became obsolete." Felicia continued to stare down at the tiger pile, counting each individual Vial over and over again. Noticing this, Dr. Kagami shook his head and began carefully shoveling the Vials back into the bag. "There's no need to dwell on this, Felicia."

"Isn't there?" she said, meeting his gaze with her ears flat, "Doctor, I'm running out of Vials! Once those are out, I'm not gonna have forms strong enough to fight with!"

"I know, I know," he nodded in understanding, "but there's not much we can do about it right now. It's just a bridge we'll have to cross when we get there. In the meantime, Penny and I will make you some Vials from our DNA. They might not be as strong as your other forms, but they might give you useful abilities like your cheetah form." Felicia's tail fidgeted uncontrollably as she brought her legs close to her chest, hugging her knees tightly. With a sigh, Dr. Kagami said, "Look, for now you should get some fresh air and clear your head. Head up to the bow and just…breathe for a bit. Alright?"

The cheetah's jaw tightened as she considered his words. Eventually, she just gave him a nod and picked herself off of the couch. Both paws held onto her camera as she made her way out to the front of the ship. Immediately, the smell of salt water filled her nostrils and small droplets sprinkled across her face fur. She let one paw trail across the railing as she walked alongside it. Once she reached the bow's tip, she rested her elbows against the railing and settled down there.

For a moment, she just stared out across the large expanse of the sea and watched the waves roll by. She watched as they parted way for the ship and foam around it in a cascade of white. She then looked up to the sky, which was as clear as could be. The sun's rays were generous here, with not a cloud in sight to block them off. They bathed her in a warmth that was strangely pleasant amidst the cool, misty air.

 _Click._

After lowering her camera, Felicia turned around and looked up to the bridge. Through its slightly tilted windows, she could just make out the outline of Penny piloting the ship. She squinted a bit as she noticed movement. Once she realized that the canine was waving at her, Felicia gave a small wave back with a hot blush washing over her face. She was about to turn back around she caught a sound that made her ears perk.

It was a low humming, not unlike the rumble coming from the ship. However this rumble was much deeper, and it was getting much, MUCH louder. So much so that she could feel the rail in her paw rattle slightly. She scanned her surroundings in hopes of finding the source of the noise, and the louder it got, the more she realized that it was coming from the rear of the ship. Unable to ignore her curiosity, Felicia stepped forward to investigate. This became unnecessary as the answer to her question came looming into view overhead, and her curiosity was replaced with dread and horror.

It was the humans' ship.

The low rumble blared in her ears as the ship swept past them, rocking the yacht and the waves it rode upon with the sheer amount of wind it kicked up. Felicia desperately held onto the rails and her camera as water splashed onto her and the bow of the yacht. Even after the yacht evened out, Felicia's paw would not release from the rail. They were here. The humans were HERE! How did they find them?!

She looked up in time to see the gargantuan aircraft slowly turn to the side and continue its way forward. She'd never gotten a good look at it until now. The thing was MASSIVE, easily dwarfing the yacht several times over. Had it not been in the shape of a boat, and had it not hovered in the air, she would have easily mistaken the black metal mass for an oversized stadium.

When it finally stopped drifting, it hung in the air high enough to blot out the sun and cast a huge shadow over the yacht. Felicia found herself shivering not only from the water clinging to her fur, but also the sheer amount of fear that was now riddling her system. An almost overwhelming feeling of dread flooded her system as the enormous ship turned to face them head on.

"FELICIA!" Dr. Kagami's shout nearly put an end to her then and there with her heart already racing so fast. The mane-less lion ran up to her with Penny at his side and their bag in his paw.

"TH-THERE HERE!" she shouted over the rumble of the massive ship, "TH-THEY KNEW WHERE TO FIND US!"

"I don't get it!" Penny shouted, "We went down a secret route! How did they find us so easily?!"

Dr. Kagami jolted as Felicia suddenly shoved her camera into their bag. With trembling paws, she frantically dug through the bag in search of the right Vial to use. She stood up as soon as she found it, but before she put it in the DNAnalyzer, she hesitated. Before the doctor could ask, she shook off her hesitation and jammed the Vial inside.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

When no follow-up announcement came immediately after, Dr. Kagami understood the hesitation. They'd avoided using the shark Vials both out of a lack of need and out of a fear of what it would do to Felicia's already changing body. But now, with the humans' ship staring them down, they had no choice now.

"Hey! Look!" Penny shouted with her finger pointed out, "At the very bottom of the ship! Something's opening up!" The two felines followed her finger to find that a panel at the very front had slid open, allowing what appeared to be a bridge to emerge. "Is…is someone coming out?!" With how far away the ship was, it was almost imperceivable, but Felicia could make out the outlines of a person at the very end of the bridge.

Not long after they were spotted, the figure leapt off of the bridge and dove straight into the water. The sight made Felicia immediately tense up and reach for her belt. She pressed its transformation button frantically, but the device still hadn't fully loaded. "Where is it now, is it still there?!" Dr. Kagami shouted over the rumble.

Penny squinted her eyes and scanned the waves. "I-I dunno, I can't see anything!"

"M-maybe they don't know it's us! They might just be sending something to check on the ship and—" The cheetah was swiftly silenced as something struck the yacht hard enough to make it rock violently to the side, tossing the passengers aboard around like ragdolls.

"I hate to break it to ya, kid, but they're onto us!" Penny shouted as she clawed back up to her feet, "Get back inside! I'm getting us the hell outta—" Once again, the yacht was struck and the furs were thrown off of their feet. However, this time a low groan was heard from beneath the ship. "Shit! Did that puncture?!"

"You go down and check!" Dr. Kagami shouted as he pulled himself and Felicia back up, "We'll deal with whatever's attacking!"

"Doc I need you down there with me! I can't seal breakages by myself!"

"Until Felicia's ready to go, I'm not leaving her side—" He stopped again, this time from the sounds of splashing water. He didn't even have a second to react as a red and white blur sailed over his head and landed back in the water on the other side of the yacht. Immediately, he drew Felicia close to him and stared at the spot the object had dove into with wide eyes.

"D-Doctor?!" Felicia shouted, drawing his attention down to her. That's when he realized his sleeve had somehow been cut.

"H-how—"

"DOCTOR!" In the next instant, Felicia threw her weight against his chest and threw the both of them down to the floor. The world around them seemed to slow to a crawl as the mysterious object breached the surface again. It was a weird mix of humanoid and sea creature. It had the head and torso of an android, yet the fins and tail of a fish. A long, fin-like crest adorned its head with golden hair trailing behind it. But most importantly, on its chest it wore a symbol both furs had grown to recognize.

Alpha's symbol.

Alpha made one more swipe at them with her fin-like blades before sailing over to the other side again and diving back down into the water. Both furs scrambled back to their feet with hearts racing. "DOCTOR!" Penny barked, "INSIDE! NOW!"

"But—"

"If you stay here, then either that thing gets you or we all drown! Let the kid handle it!"

"But Felicia—"

"Alpha…" Dr. Kagami shot his gaze over to Felicia, whose paws were now trembling. But not out of fear, he realized. Her ears were flat, her teeth were bared, and her muzzle was crinkled up in an angry snarl. No, this wasn't fear; this was pure, unbridled rage. She clawed back up to her feet with her claws drawn. "That was ALPHA."

 **SHARK!**

" **ALPHAAAAAAAAAAAA!** " As if summoned, Alpha burst out of the water and slammed headfirst into Felicia, bringing the cheetah overboard and into the depths below. Dr. Kagami let out a horrified scream and ran to the side of the yacht she'd fallen over.

"FELICIA!" he shouted desperately, only for Penny to grab his shoulder and shake him off of the railing.

"DOC!" she barked in his face, "There's NOTHING you can do for her! Right now I need you to help me keep this ship afloat!"

The lion's fists were clenched so hard that blood was being drawn by his claws. He gave one final look into the cold, unwelcoming waves before cursing loudly and rushing into the interior of the ship.


	13. Chapter 12: Dead In The Water

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 12

A plethora of substances was rushing through Felicia's system. The blood pumping in her veins, the adrenaline surging into her muscles, the oxygen exiting her lungs, and most importantly, the water filling her throat. But none of that mattered to her right now. What mattered more was the fury and hatred dominating her mind. What mattered the _most_ was the person that was dragging her further and further away from the water's surface. Alpha, the one responsible for murdering her friend Paula in cold blood, and for throwing her and Dr. Kagami's life into disarray was right in front of her.

It was time for payback.

Alpha suddenly stopped their rapid descent and threw Felicia forward, sending her in a downwards spiral. A storm of bubbles erupted from her as the last of her oxygen left her lungs. As she flailed helplessly, Alpha flapped her fin blades and tail to rocket forward and deliver the finishing blow.

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

A thick layer of black scales enveloped Felicia just in time for Alpha's blades to bounce off of them. The cybernetic human quickly withdrew as she waited for her target's "cocoon" to peel away. That's when she took notice of the dull cracking sounds coming from her. Her entire body seemed to be trembling from within the confines of her shell. Suddenly, with a loud snap, one of her arms flexed. Alpha tightened the grip on her blades upon realizing that Felicia wasn't waiting around for the scales to peel away; she was forcing them open herself.

After the rest of her limbs snapped the scales apart, the remaining scales rapidly peeled away. Now freed, Felicia's claw went to her neck and she sucked in a deep breath. As Alpha expected, she was perfectly capable of breathing underwater. The blue of her suit nearly blended in with the blue void they now resided in, with only a stripe of white down the middle breaking it up. Aside from the arms and legs she was flailing around with, her body was now far better suited for the water. Her large, muscular tail was sending her all over the place and her more streamlined head was cutting through the water with ease. The white ponytail trailing out of her head fin to splayed and contracted over and over again with her frantic flailing.

"I warned you, Felicia," Alpha declared, making no move to strike as the newly formed shark righted herself, "I warned _both_ of you. I even gave you both a chance to give up. But you refused…and now here we are, with both of you at my mercy."

Felicia glared at her and opened her jaws, baring her large and sharp teeth. She made several gasps before she managed to figure out how to speak with her new gills. "L-like we'd ever trust your offers after what you've done. You're nothing but a liar. You lied to Dr. Kagami-no you lied to the whole WORLD!"

"I'm only doing what must be done to survive, Felicia. You and your friend threatened our chances, and because of that, we did what we had to in order to ensure our survival once more."

"What must be done?! WHAT MUST BE DONE?!" Felicia's tail thrashed with fury as she rushed Alpha. The cybernetic human merely clapped her blade fins beside her and shot off to the side. Felicia flailed to a stop and snapped her head to the side to face her again. "What could Paula have POSSIBLY DONE that threatened your livelihood?! You're LOVED! ADORED! CELEBRATED! DON'T TELL ME THIS WAS FOR YOUR IMAGE—"

"Our image has NOTHING to do with this! She saw something she shouldn't have seen, not by her, or any of your kind! Like with you, I gave her a chance. But rather than listen, she refused to keep her mouth shut. Had it not been for that, she would've been with us now." Felicia's claws were clenched so tightly that they were digging into the hard, armored shell of her palms. "You have only served to justify my precautions, Felicia. You have roamed free, destroying every station in sight, risking out exposure and threatening our survival with each one"

"You keep SAYING THAT! Survival! As if something's out to get you! What could you possibly be in danger of?!"

"THE EXTINCTION OF OUR ENTIRE RACE!" This time, Alpha advanced. She clapped her blade fins together and shot forward like a torpedo. Her head slammed directly into Felicia's gut, and the two of them rocketed deeper and deeper into the watery depths. The shark's mind went into a frenzy and she once again began thrashing around wildly. Her claws scraped and slashed against Alpha's back, but she continued their mad descent unimpeded. Lights suddenly danced in Felicia's eyes as her back slammed into the sea's floor, sending a huge cloud of sand up around them.

Alpha drew back, but only to raise her sword up to strike. Felicia threw her gauntleted arm over her face just as Alpha thrust forward, parrying the blade away from her face and into the sand. As Alpha tried to pull it out, Felicia thrashed again and wrenched herself free. Having had very little swimming experience, and absolutely NO experience with how her new tail worked, she didn't get very far. So by the time Alpha freed her blade, she was upon her once again. Felicia could only shield herself with her arms as Alpha swung with murderous intent.

With a furious cry, Alpha whirled around and swung both against Felicia's guard with all of her might. The shark was blown backwards in a mad spin, flying head over heels until she managed to stop herself again. When she looked up, she realized that Alpha's hands were now trembling. "Those stations you've been haphazardly tearing apart are our LAST HOPE!" she screamed, pain riddling every word she spoke, "Without them, we're destined to waste away!"

"What do you—" Felicia didn't get to finish as Alpha rocketed forward again. She grit her teeth and flailed her tail around in hopes of understanding it then and there. When she failed, she was met with a heavy blow to her forehead as it collided against Alpha's. Not even two seconds afterwards did the human swing back around to strike again. She came in from every direction, zipping around at blinding speeds and knocking her around like a pinball. By the time it stopped, Felicia didn't even realize that she'd crashed through an entire sunken cruise ship until it began to collapse in on itself. With a light head, the shark tore herself out of her Felicia-sized hole and thrashed out into the open.

Immediately, Alpha was upon her, but this time Felicia was ready, catching both of the human's wrists mid-swing. Furious, Alpha pulled, shoved and swung Felicia in a desperate attempt to free herself. Once she realized the stubborn shark wasn't letting go, she slammed her tail fin into Felicia's gut. The shock of the blow was enough to get her to release her grip, and right after, Alpha plowed her elbows against her head and sent her crashing back down into the already demolished ship.

"This Earth that you people live in, the once desolate wasteland that you somehow miraculously sprung new life from, we can't survive in it! The food, the water, even the air you breathe; it's all poisonous to us! Do you have ANY IDEA HOW THAT FEELS?! To see a thriving world filled with life while your own kind wastes away in a vat of liquid and recycled oxygen! To see children laughing and playing while the ones you love struggle to so much as breathe! It's TORTURE!"

Suddenly, Felicia burst out from her metal prison and charged headfirst into Alpha. The human was ready for her and slithered out of the way of her ferocious charge. After her jaws snapped at empty water, she threw her arms over her face and blocked a heavy swing from Alpha's blades. The shark spun head over heels a good distance before she righted herself. "And what does this have to do with those stations?!"

"EVERYTHING!" Alpha moved in to strike, only to be blindsided by Felicia whirling around and swinging her tail hard enough to leave behind a huge cluster of bubbles. Alpha swiped wildly through them, but her blades made contact with nothing but the water itself. Felicia's jaws clamped sharply onto her tail in the next instant. Rather than let her chew her way through, Alpha thrashed her tail in every direction in hopes of flinging her off.

Felicia was quick to release as she didn't savor breaking her neck several leagues beneath the sea. She swiped at her back, but Alpha weaved around her arm and punished Felicia with a slash across the arm. She cried out and hugged her arm to her body before turning tail and running. Her heart hammered in her chest as she frantically wriggled in the water, swishing her tail side to side rather than all over the place.

Her efforts weren't enough to escape the human. She swam up beside her and rammed her shoulder against Felicia's, knocking her off course. She continued to do this again and again as she shouted, "With those stations, humanity will be given a second chance! We can return the Earth to the way we left it; barren, but inhabitable for our kind!"

"You'll WHAT?!" Felicia shouted before Alpha's elbow found its way into the side of her head. Alpha's tail then slammed against her back, and she was knocked into a forest of kelp, hiding her from sight. The human kept her grip tight and her gaze sharp as she allowed herself to sink lower into the water and into the kelp forest.

"Hear me, Felicia; you are free to run and hide. But you should know that it is pointless. Sooner or later, life as you know it will waste away." She paused to sweep her blade through the kelp strings obstructing her way. Much to her frustration, there was no armored shark lying in wait behind them as they floated away. "None of your kind will survive the process once it begins, and by the time they realize what's happening, it will be too late. It won't matter where you run, and it won't matter where you hide. Your kind will perish so that our kind can thrive."

Another swipe, and this time, Alpha caught a glimpse of a tail tip slip away. She narrowed her eyes as she slowly moved in the direction it disappeared to. "What I regret the most is not dealing with you and Dr. Kagami sooner. My hesitation has only resulted in further misery for all of us… Yet even now, I find myself hesitant." Alpha's hand shook as it tightened around her blade. "I had every moment to prepare myself, every opportunity to strike Dr. Kagami down and finally put an end to this. But when the time finally came, I _still_ faltered.

"I don't know what's holding me back. Is it guilt? Pity? Am I just desperately holding onto an already broken bond, despite knowing how pointless it is? I don't know… But I know one thing for certain. In order to redeem myself for my shortcomings, and in order to save what's left of humanity…" Alpha swung both blades out wide and sliced away a huge portion of kelp, exposing Felicia and leaving her wide open.

"I must start by killing you, Felicia."

* * *

"Okay! This is the last one! Toss me the sealant!" Penny shouted, holding a metal board against a rupture with all of her might. Dr. Kagami waded his way through knee-deep water before tossing a spray can her way. As soon as she caught it, the canine sprayed generous amounts of its contents onto the edges of the board. The sealant acted fast, bubbling up rapidly before hardening and binding the board to the ship's wall. It was only after the board was completely sealed did she step away. "Okay, we gotta pump all of this water out of here!"

"I set up the pump ahead of time!" the lion shouted, already on the move, "You switch it on and I'll go topside!"

"Alright, but be careful!" Penny shouted to him, "That thing might still be after you!"

 _Only if she's taken care of Felicia first…_ Dr. Kagami thought to himself with dread. His teeth were grit as he rushed up the stairs. _Felicia…please be alright…_

* * *

Felicia's and Alpha's furious cries resonated through the water as the two of them clashed again and again, shooting around like out-of-control missiles. The former had far less control over this and was being knocked around like a pinball. With her being assaulted from all sides, all Felicia could do was endure the abuse. Every impact from Alpha's shoulder sent shockwaves through her body, and every slash from her blades left gashes on her armor and suit. It was clear to the both of them that this form was far more resilient than the others, but Alpha was putting to the test just _how_ resilient it could be.

"DIE FOR ME, FELICIA!" Alpha screamed, "SO THAT HUMANITY CAN THRIVE AGAIN!" She then struck Felicia hard enough to send her spiraling out of control. Bubbles, fish and kelp flooded her vision until she slammed into the sandy floor of the sea. Despite the world spinning around her, and the strange electrical sensation filling her body, Felicia forced herself back upright. In the fraction of a second she had to react, Felicia planted her arms to her sides and thrashed from side to side furiously.

She was unable to get going in time and was punished with Alpha ramming her head directly into Felicia's gut. The two of them rocketed through the water at a blinding speed, zipping past the yacht and breaking out to the surface. Felicia caught a brief glance of their boat and Dr. Kagami with a pump in his paws, a shocked and terrified expression written across his face, before the two combatants fell back into the water to resume their exchange. Felicia managed to right herself in time to shield her face from Alpha's incoming blade.

As the human's momentum carried her onward and shot her off into the distance, Felicia's mind raced. Alpha was just WAY too fast. If she didn't start damaging her soon, the durability of this form was bound to hit its limit. Trying to catch up to her was out of the question, so her best bet was to try and slow her down somehow. Felicia's eyes immediately shot over to the kelp forest. With little time to waste, she planted her arms to her sides again and took off thrashing.

The electrical sensation from before returned, sprouting from the side of her snout this time. A moment later, Alpha _plowed_ her shoulder into Felicia's side and knocked her away like a billiards ball. Her impact with the sea floor was cushioned by the very kelp forest she'd set her sights on. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Felicia righted herself and disappeared deeper inside.

"There's NO ESCAPE!" Alpha screamed before clapping her blades behind her and shooting forward like a torpedo. Nearly all of the kelp blocking her way was cleaved from their roots by her blades, clearing an entire row. Had Felicia been hiding just a little to the right, she had no doubt her head would've been amongst the kelp strings that were now floating to the surface. "You can't hide forever!" Alpha hissed, "I'm going to find you SOONER OR LATER!"

The threat sent shivers down Felicia's spine, but when those didn't go away, she realized it was the electrical sensation she'd been feeling. With it seemingly aimed towards Alpha's voice, Felicia realized this sensation wasn't just her getting used to this new body. It was like a physical radar alerting her to the human's general location. She felt the sensation swell, so she carefully backed away. A moment later, Alpha's blades cleaved through another huge patch of kelp, putting the shark out in the open.

Felicia's fight won the fight-or-flight coin-flip, making her rush forward with her jaws and claws all open wide. Alpha jolted backwards as Felicia's jaws snapped right in front of her face. Before the human could escape, Felicia's claws clamped onto one of Alpha's arms and dug in. A cry of pain left Alpha's throat as she tried to pull herself free, but Felicia's grip was too tight and her claws were in too deep. With no other option, the human bashed her head directly against Felicia's, stunning her long enough to allow her to slam her tail fin directly into her gut.

The shock of the blow got Felicia to release her, and immediately, the human shot backwards and assessed the damage. The claw marks that'd been left behind were deep enough to expose some of her arms' inner workings. Wires, small hydraulic pistons, all now mangled up and gashed up thanks to the shark. Fury building, Alpha clapped her fins behind her and launched herself into Felicia again. The action caused even more pain to flare up, and it only worsened as she bulldozed Felicia through the kelp forest. "'N-NexUs!'" she shouted in her tongue, "'Increase my pain inhibition levels!'"

"'Right away, ma'am,'" the AI responded before a wave of numbness dulled her pain, only for a sharp new pain to shoot up from her thighs. Alpha realized Felicia's feet claws were being driven into her and brought the both of them to an abrupt halt to stop the abuse. The shark carried the momentum with her and disappeared into the forest again. Alpha gave chase and wildly slashed at the kelp blocking her way. All the while, Felicia swam for her life. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and electricity was dancing across the back of her neck.

No matter how quickly she turned or where she went, Felicia could feel the human right on her tail. And sooner or later, she was going to run out of forest to hide in. Suddenly, she felt the electrical feeling washed over her entire back and heard the sound of Alpha's blade cutting through the water right over her head. With her heart hammering, Felicia flipped around and crossed her arms in front of her face. A second later, Alpha's blade was embedded DEEP in her gauntlet.

Before she could make a second swing, Felicia delivered a savage kick to her chest. The move wrenched the embedded blade out of Alpha's hand and launched both of them away from each other. "FELICIA!" the human screeched as she catapulted herself forward. With rage. Fear rattled every inch of the shark as she pried the blade out of her gauntlet and swam away with it. "You're NOT getting away!" Alpha clapped both of her arms against her sides and took off after her.

However, with the human's swim speed crippled by the lack of her second fin, Felicia was gaining more distance between the two of them. It filled Alpha with rage and Felicia with drive. Now it wasn't the shark trying to stay away; it was the human trying to keep up. This knowledge gave Felicia the push she needed to switch gears. She tightened the grip on her blade, focused on where the electric sensation was pointing, and whirled around to swing as hard as she could.

The move caught Alpha off guard in her blind rage, and she barely had enough time to guard with the blade she still had. The two weapons clashed hard enough to throw the both of them wildly off course. Felicia suddenly found herself above the kelp forest and felt vulnerability wash over her. Electricity spiked in front of her as Alpha burst out from the forest with her blade pointed forward. Felicia used the little time she had to hurl herself to the side and swing wildly at the human.

Flying past the shark after the savage parry, Alpha circled around and took another lunge at her. Felicia cried out as the blade clashed sharply against her chest and spiraled backwards from the momentum. She was nearly at the bottom of the sea floor by the time she righted herself, and immediately she took off swimming. Alpha stayed hot on Felicia's tail, determined to not grant her the distance she'd gained earlier. Felicia stayed low to the ground, her chin almost scraping against the sandy floor beneath her. Her heart jumped every time the electrical sensation surged behind her, prompting her to lean to the side, lest she be impaled by Alpha's blade.

The human was so focused on Felicia that she failed to notice where she was leading her. By the time she realized, she nearly crashed through one of the torn up metal slabs of the sunken cruise ship. Felicia slipped into one of the narrow openings as Alpha roared in fury and slashed her way inside. The two of them sped down a long corridor, knocking aside various abandoned items floating around. Eventually the two of them emerged into a large dining hall, with tables bolted to the "ceiling" above them.

Felicia ignored how disorienting the sight was and slipped between them all, hoping they'd provide some modicum of cover, or at least slow Alpha down in her pursuit. However, the human was no longer behind her. She was watching her carefully from below, taking note of the path she was taking. Eventually, she took aim with her blade at where she was _going_ to be and launched herself forward.

Felicia's senses warned her of the incoming attack too late, and as a result, Alpha's blade plunged through Felicia's side. A pained shriek left her throat before the human crashed into her. Seconds later, the two of them were back out in the open with metal debris and scraps following them out. Felicia kept her free paw clamped tightly on her wound as she tried to right herself.

Her _dominant_ paw.

She barely managed to bring her sword up in time before Alpha came at her again. The blow swatted Felicia's arm aside and left her dangerously open. "DIE!" Alpha cried as she lunged forward, the tip of her blade aimed directly at Felicia's chest. Felicia turned her body just a bit too late, and the edge of the blade sliced across her chest plate. In a blind panic, she resorted to flailing at Alpha wildly with her blade to fend her off. But the human did not relent. She only continued to press her advantage and swung at her without mercy.

Every clash threatened to knock Felicia's blade out of her grasp, and she was losing her grip _fast_. She wasn't letting her fight back. She wasn't letting her recover. But most terrifying of all, she wasn't letting her _escape_. Dread began to fill Felicia's thoughts. This was it; Alpha was going to keep her word here and now. Felicia had seen too much, gotten others involved and failed to give in when she had the chance. Now she was going to kill her, right here, at the bottom of the sea, in the middle of nowhere. She'd done it to Paula, she'd done it to those police officers, and after her, she'd do it to Dr. Kagami, Penny, and soon after, the rest of the world.

Felicia's heart raced even faster. She hated that thought. She hated it more than she feared losing her own life. The human had already gotten away with so much, and pinned it on _her,_ no less. She hissed through her teeth as Alpha's blade collided against her shoulder guard and chipped off a chunk of it. No, she wasn't going to get away with anything else. It was time for her to pay. Even if this was where Felicia fell, by her own word…

She'd take Alpha down with her.

"ALPHA!" Felicia roared before making a ferocious swing at Alpha's head. The tears in her arms cracked as she blocked the strike with her own blade, sending more shocks of pain through her system. She groaned and forced herself through both the pain and Felicia's attack. She shoved the shark's blade aside with both hands on her own and swung at her exposed torso. Felicia brought her arm back down to block with her gauntlet. Alpha's blade embedded itself deep into the black metal and sliced into her arm, eliciting a cry of pain from the shark.

Before Alpha could tug her blade free, Felicia released her wound to switch paws on her blade. Alpha let go of her own as soon as she saw this to back off and avoid getting her head lopped off. Felicia rushed after her with the blade raised over her head. When she swung down, Alpha shot in closer and blocked the swing by swinging her forearm against Felicia's. Right after, she grabbed her wrist, yanked her in closer and plowed her tail into Felicia's stomach.

The blow stunned her and made her loosen her grip on the blade. Alpha took that chance to pry it out of her paw and swing at her chest. Felicia reacted a bit too late, and the blade raked sharply against her chest plate, gouging into it frighteningly deep. Rather than wait to see if she was already dead, Felicia shot herself forward with her tail and opened her jaws wide.

 **D-N-ANNIHILATION!**

Alpha's heart nearly stopped when Felicia's jaws loomed over her face. When they snapped, they shut with enough force to send a shockwave through the water. But rather than crunch through a robotic skull, Felicia's teeth sunk into the flat of Alpha's blade. Alpha let go of it to grab onto the one still embedded in Felicia's gauntlet. In the same motion, she yanked at the jammed blade and slammed her tail into the shark's stomach yet again. The blow delivered enough force to pry the blade free and knock Felicia spiraling backwards. "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!" she screamed as she raised her blade over her head and went in for the kill. Felicia's heart thundered in her chest as she desperately flailed to right herself. With only a second to react, Felicia threw her arms in front of her face expecting Alpha to aim for her head.

She didn't.

She changed direction mid-swing and swung beneath Felicia's arms, landing a clean slice on her stomach. A loud shattering sound reverbed through the water as Alpha forced her way forward. To bring herself to a halt, she opened her arms and clapped them in front of her. When she did, some of the blood staining the blade billowed off of it. Seeing this, Alpha relaxed her shoulders. She'd done it; it was finally over. With her out of the way, she was ready to fully dedicate herself to their cause. She gently caressed the sparking wounds on her arm as she turned around to make her way towards the ship Dr. Kagami resided in.

Only to be greeted by the sight of Felicia, out of suit, alive and in one piece, with fire raging in her eyes, and putting all of her strength into her swing. In the next instant, an unimaginable pain erupted throughout her entire body as the blade severed her arm and pierced deeply into her side. Her mind went blank as she let out an ear-piercing scream and thrashed around wildly. Her tail swatted Felicia hard in the chin and knocked her out cold, leaving her floating motionless as Alpha flailed and writhed in pain.

"'NEXUS!'" Omega's voice boomed.

"'YES SIR!'" the AI responded before the pain was rapidly dulled. When it finally subsided, Alpha shuddered and curled up, grasping the stub of her arm with her good and only hand. Her dress began to unfurl from its tail configuration, and her blades began to sink down to the bottom of the sea.

"'ALPHA!'" Omega's voice came again, "'RETURN TO THE ARK **NOW**!'"

"'B…but,'" she croaked, her mind still in a daze, "'I can still kill her…she's right…there…'"

"'I SAID **NOW**!'" he boomed again. Suddenly, a shadow was cast down upon her. Alpha slowly looked up to see the enormous silhouette of their ship blotting out the sun. With her senses incredibly dulled, Alpha carefully uncurled herself and slowly swam up, passing by the unconscious form of Felicia slowly floating up to the surface. Before the human broke out to the surface, she found herself being tugged along by an invisible force. She rose to the surface and _kept_ rising, floating in the air as the ship's tractor beam drew her in. She looked up to see Omega standing right at the end of the lowered stairway with his arms outstretched towards her.

She didn't even realize she reached out to him as well until her hand clasped around his. As soon as his grip was firm, Omega drew her in close and carried her in his arms as he stomped up the now closing stairway. "'I'm sorry…'" he muttered incoherently, "I'm so sorry, my love…I'm so sorry…'" These were the last words Alpha heard before she slipped into unconsciousness.

With a loud tremor, the enormous ship turned around and flew away, once again flinging the yacht around in the waves. Dr. Kagami's heart dropped as he watched it leave. Frantically, he scanned the water for signs of life. "DO YOU SEE HER ANYWHERE?!" he screamed over the wind.

"NO! I CAN'T FIND HER ANY—" Penny stopped as she caught sight of a dorsal fin pop up in the distance. "WAIT! LOOK OVER THERE! PORTSIDE!"

The lion whipped around and immediately spotted it. His heart leapt, only to immediately drop as he realized there was blood beginning to pool around it. "FELICIA!" he screamed with horror before hurling himself off the side of the ship. Penny shouted after him, but he refused to listen. His heart pounded as he swam with all of his might. _Nonononono, please for the love of god, no,_ he thought desperately as he fought against the waves. When he finally reached her, he immediately grabbed her and shook her shoulder. "Felicia?! Felicia it's me! Wake up!" No response came. The lion's heart sank deeper.

He held his breath and dove beneath the surface. Blood was spilling from wounds on her arm and side. Her shirt had been cut open in the front to reveal yet another wound. Immediately he pressed his paw against it. A wave of relief filled his system when he realized the wound wasn't too deep. He didn't feel her breathing, and he desperately hoped it was due to her new shark body. He broke to the surface and hung Felicia's good arm over his neck before swimming back to the yacht. Penny shouted to him and tossed a life preserver overboard. Once he reached it, the canine pulled the two of them in and helped them back aboard.

Dr. Kagami was on his feet as soon as he was able to. He knelt down and checked for a pulse. More relief filled his system when he felt one. However, she still wasn't moving, and she still wasn't breathing. Thinking fast, he yanked a vial off of Felicia's necklace and pried the one inside of the belt out. He immediately replaced it and pressed its button.

 **D-N-ANALYZE!**

 **TIGER!**

 **D-N-ASSIMILATION!**

Black scales washed over Felicia's body and reshaped it, returning it to the familiar shape of her tiger form. As soon as it was over, he yanked that vial out, and the armored suit vanished into thin air. "Felicia!" he shouted, slapping his paw against the side of her face, "Felicia wake up!"

"Doc! Her vitals!"

"R-right, sorry!" His paws trembled as he checked for a pulse again. Confirming it was still there, he shot down and planted his ear right in front of her muzzle. A moment passed. And then another. And just as tears began to form in his eyes, he caught the sound of an exhalation. Dr. Kagami nearly broke down then and there. His throat was tight as he raised himself back up and grasped Felicia's wounds tightly. "Penny, grab the first aid kit!"

"Already on it!" she shouted as she disappeared into the ship's interior. When she came back out, she was carrying a med kit and a roll of bandages with her. The two of them quickly set to work on cleaning and wrapping Felicia's wounds. As Dr. Kagami got to work on the last one, he felt the tigress begin to shift around. He snapped his gaze up and saw her eyes flutter open.

"Felicia?!"

A groan left her throat as she gingerly tried to sit up, only for Penny to hold her down. "D…Doctor?"

"Felicia!" the lion cried with glee before dropping everything and drawing her in for a hug. She let out a feeble cough as she was squeezed tightly. Immediately, Dr. Kagami released her and carefully set her down. "S-sorry, I'm just…" he paused to wipe happy tears away from his eyes, "I'm just really glad you're alright."

As she settled down, Felicia offered him a weary smile. "…Thank you."

* * *

After ensuring her wounds were patched up and wrapping her up in a towel, the group huddled together in the lounge room which had since been thrown into disarray. "I'm glad we all made it out of there in one piece," said Penny, "but now we've got one big problem. Your little human friend completely destroyed our engines. We don't even have a rudder anymore. Right now, we're dead in the water."

Felicia's ears flattened. "So we're completely stuck?"

"Unless someone can magically scrounge up some engine parts, yeah." Penny folded her arms and growled softly. "We're gonna have to radio for help."

"And once we do, we're gonna get caught by the authorities, no doubt about it," said Dr. Kagami, "The humans are gonna catch wind of our call for help and let them know about us, and that's assuming they don't just come back and attack us themselves after they're done licking their wounds."

Felicia jumped as Penny slammed her fist against the table. "DAMMIT! There's gotta be _something_ we can do!" As the group sat in silence, Felicia reached up and caressed one of the vials on her necklace.

"…Do we have any rope?" she asked. Both of the other furs looked over to her with confusion.

"I mean, yeah. But why would you ask?"

Felicia glanced out the window and tightened her grip on the vial. "If you tie me to the ship in my shark form, I can pull us the rest of the way to land."

Both of the other furs stared at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious," chuffed Dr. Kagami, "You realize how much weight you'd have to pull? Not to mention the distance you'd have to swim for!"

"But we don't have any other choice! They're out for blood, and if we wait around, they're going to come after us!"

"Maybe we can resolve things peacefully with the authorities? If we call, the humans might hold off on attacking us to avoid suspicion?" The look on his face told everyone that even he knew how much of a stretch that was.

"Doctor, please!"

"What you're asking us to make you do is incredibly unreasonable! Backwards or forwards, we're looking at a trip that would last _days_ to reach land! There's no way you can pull that off without collapsing from pure exhaustion!"

Penny furrowed her brow. "…Actually…maybe she doesn't _have_ to tug us all the way." Both of the other furs turned their attention to the canine. "There's a current running between Australia and New Zealand, the East Australian Current. All we have to do is hit it, and we can let it carry us the rest of the way there."

Felicia and Dr. Kagami looked to each other. For a while, neither said anything. Eventually, the lion nodded to her wordlessly in resignation. With that, Felicia turned back to Penny and said, "Let's do it then."

* * *

Omega stared into Alpha's eyes as she laid across an operating table. On the side opposite of him, a series of mechanical arms were in the process of rewiring and repairing Alpha's damaged parts. Metal plates were being produced from the wall and brought over to encase the robotic skeleton of her new arm. With her senses so dulled, she barely felt anything that was going on. The one thing she could feel was the gentle squeeze of her lover's hand around her own.

"'I was wrong,'" he said suddenly, breaking Alpha out of her silent trance.

"'Wrong about what?'" she asked him, her voice soft and weak.

"'When I confronted you, I said that I lost the only family I had left…'" Omega's grip tightened around Alpha's hand, "'But that's not true. That couldn't be farther from the truth, because I do still have a family left. _Our_ family. _You_ are my family.'" He lowered himself down to his knees and pressed Alpha's fingers against his faceplate.

Alpha stared into his eyes. It felt so alien to see him so genuine. It almost made her wonder if this was even the same person. "'…Omega…'"

"'I should never have made you put yourself in the line of fire. I nearly lost you because of that. Without you, I would have been lost, and our kind would likely vanish. You've done enough. You've made up for your mistakes. So now, it's time for me to make up for mine. For the sake of our family, and for the sake of every living being aboard the Ark.'"

Alpha's throat tightened. It had been far too long since she had seen this side of Omega, and seeing it again after so long, after so much time distancing themselves from each other, it was almost too much for her to handle now. She could find no words to speak with, so instead, she tightened her grip on his hands and stared into his eyes, lovingly, for the first time in a long time.

* * *

"COME ON, FELICIA! YOU CAN DO IT!"

"YOU'VE GOT THIS, KID! JUST A LITTLE BIT FARTHER!"

The shouts of the furs aboard the yacht only barely reached Felicia's ears as her dorsal fin sliced through the water's surface. She was putting her all into dragging the ship along using the rope tied to her ankles. The rest of her body snaked through the water like a sea serpent, with her tail doing most of the work and her arms planted firmly at her sides, only coming out to push herself back up to the surface.

Every single inch of her body ached; she'd been at this for several hours now. She wasn't going to let that stop her, at least not until they reached that current. With a grunt, she spread her arms and pushed upwards to launch herself to the surface.

"KEEP AT IT!" Both Penny and Dr. Kagami shouted to her before she plunged back into the surface.

"How much longer till we reach it?" the lion asked Penny.

"Shouldn't be much longer now. She should feel it pull us along any minute now."

"COME ON, FELICIA! ALMOST THERE!"

Felicia ground her teeth together as she tightened her focus. The knowledge that they were almost there pushed her to double her efforts. The furs aboard the yacht nearly fell backwards from the sudden increase in speed. Her muscles screamed with pain in protest, but she ignored them. Just…a little…bit…farther…

Suddenly, she felt the tension of the rope slacken. She slowed her vigorous thrashing to a stop and realized she was being carried along by an invisible force. With her heart leaping, Felicia clawed her way to the surface and looked back at the yacht to see Penny and Dr. Kagami cheering in celebration. Relief washed over the shark like a flood and relaxed every ounce of her being. With their aid, Felicia returned to the boat, as well as to the warm-blooded body of her wolf persona.

"Great job, kid!" Penny congratulated with a firm pat on the back, "Next stop, New Zealand!"

"Thanks," Felicia sighed happily, slumping against Dr. Kagami, "Now…if it's not too much to ask…is it alright if I lie down? Preferably on a dry bed?"

Dr. Kagami laughed, "Sure thing, kiddo. We'll get you the driest bed we've got."

" _Thaaanks_ ," she sighed one last time as she was walked back into the ship. As they disappeared into the ship's interior, Felicia glanced back out to the sea. The humans' enormous ship was nowhere to be seen. Even then, she couldn't relax. They were out there, ready to take her out for good at a moment's notice. Sooner or later, they would cross paths again. It was a terrifying thought.

But as the doors closed behind them, and as Dr. Kagami continued to hold her close and support her, she felt…comforted. She felt safe. She felt like she could handle whatever the humans threw her way. The old lion smiled down at her as he noticed her looking, and she couldn't help but smile back. Just as he was keeping her safe, she was going to keep _him_ safe.

She was going to keep _everyone_ safe.


End file.
